North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora took part Thursday in the ACC’s annual coaches’ spring teleconference and was asked a variety of questions about his program and upcoming team.
Here is the full transcript from what Fedora had to say:
Opening statement
We finished up spring on Monday, had a good spring, we got a lot of reps with a lot of young guys and we got a lot of people a lot of work. It was a very productive spring.
Now that spring practice is over, how does he feel about the QB position?
I would say that both of them are better off than they were when they left off at the end of the season. I think they’ve made a lot of progress. I think they did a really good job this winter preparing themselves. I think both of them are much more comfortable in the offense and with what we’re trying to do. I think that the game is slowing down for both of them that the decision making process is much easier for them, and therefore they can be much more accurate.
On why there was no spring game this year
The biggest reason was we needed to get more reps, so we just had a normal scrimmage. When you do a spring game you’re limited in what you can do and how many reps you’re going to get and you’re doing it for the fans. This was much better that we could get more reps and really what we wanted out of it. And then on top of it, we have construction going on in the stadium, we don’t have seating everywhere because they’re putting in new seats. So it just worked out better for us that way.
Is this something he will do moving forward or is this a one-time thing?
I don’t know, it just depends on the team. We had a lot of young guys that needed a lot more reps this spring, so it just worked out better for us in this situation. We will make that decision each and every spring.
On the offensive line and leadership, is it Charlie Heck at this time or someone else?
I would say that Charlie is starting to evolve into that position, he really is. One, I think Charlie has really had a great spring. He’s just now really understand what it means to play offensive tackle. He’s been a tight end his whole life, so he’s really starting to understand that, had a great spring. You do start seeing him start to come out of his shell more and be more vocal. He is very well respected on our football team, therefore he’s in a position of leadership. So he’s doing that, Jay-Jay McCargo at center is, and probably Nick Polino, who’s probably the older of the guys up there is doing a good job of it also. I feel good about where those guys are right now.
William Sweet would have been one of those guys had he not gotten hurt last year, but is he still able to be a leader or does that have to wait until he gets back on the field?
It’s always hard when you’re injured. It’s hard to try and lead when you’re not involved in the actual drills and you’re over there rehabbing and it’s just always hard. But I think William is well respected, I think everybody knows what he can do. William is one that is vocal and will talk and does a good job of communicating. So it’ll be good to get him back here this summer.
On his biggest takeaways from Monday’s scrimmage
I would say the biggest thing I felt our quarterbacks were comfortable. I think that nothing really surprised them. I thought that their decision-making process, they looked at ease, there was nothing coming at them that they did know what to do. It wasn’t a surprise, it was a good takeaway from the scrimmage.
Anthony Ratliff has really done some nice things. I was pleased to get a really good look at the incoming guys that entered school in January. Bryson Richardson really did a nice job, Javonte Williams, Dyami Brown, it was really good to see those guys get to perform in that type of atmosphere.
What does he think will be his team’s biggest strengths this season?
That’s a great question. You know, that’s a great question. I don’t know, I don’t know yet.
On how he feels the OL did throughout the spring and how hard it is to develop a cohesive unit during the spring…
That’s the toughest thing because of injuries, guys out a day or a couple of days here, it makes it really difficult. That group needs a lot of work together, and unfortunately at this time, we just weren’t able to do that. William Sweet wasn’t out there, Jay-Jay McCargo wasn’t out there. So you were rolling in a lot of guys looking for the top five or the best five, so that changed throughout the spring. On the other side of that, it was good you got a look at a lot of people and a lot of people got opportunities. It was good to see some of the growth that those young guys have made in one year.
On if he’d consider having spring practices or scrimmages away from UNC in the future…
We have done that two or three times since I’ve been here. We went to Charlotte one year, went to Greensboro one year, so we’ve had scrimmages in different places in the state of North Carolina. We did it for recruiting, we wanted to take the team to the fans, and it was a good experience for us. We also tried to treat it as an away game for our guys and we tried to do things that were very similar so they would understand how we were going to do things when we’re on the road. I would considering doing it again in the future, I liked it in the past.
On Aaron Crawford having such a big spring…
One thing is he stayed healthy all spring and his effort was just unbelievable all spring. For a guy who’s 300 pounds and he’s making plays all over the field from sideline-to-sideline and downfield, I’m just really proud of the effort that he’s put in and the want-to. He’s become a leader, also. When guys see somebody playing like that, that’s contagious. So I’m really excited about his upcoming season.
