4/2/2020 football Edit

Heels Should Be Ready To Roll Whenever They Return

At some point, the Tar Heels will return to UNC, and when they do, how soon will they be able to hit the practice field? (Jacob Turner, THI)

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

If and when North Carolina’s football team returns to Chapel Hill and proceeds forward, just what kind of shape will the Tar Heels be in and how soon after could they dive into full-fledged practices?

Strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess is optimistic on both fronts. Being smart is the key, though, which means having the proper foundation for conditioning before the players return to avoid a rash of injuries that would otherwise be a certainty.

“If we take a slow progression and manage that as far as what we're doing, and what we're asking the guys to do, I think you could start that right away,” Hess said, during a recent virtual press conference on March 30. “I don't think that's something you'd have to have a progression into because we are in shape.

“We've got all the running, so we'll be in a good spot with that. It's just a matter of progressing that and being smart.”

The Heels being strong enough when they return is Hess' main concern. (Jacob Turner, THI)

The stamina and conditioning may be there, but what about the players’ strength? Most are doing workouts at home in make-shift situations, some of which include weighing down back packs with bottles of water.

“I think building back the foundation of strength,” Hess replied, when asked what his number one concern will be when the players return. “I think immediately kind of attacking that and getting back – we want to be as powerful as possible going into the season having a great foundation of strength.

“That’s what we spent the eight weeks of winter building, so they can lead into the next phase. Just making sure that we re-establish that strength that they had built and start getting into those different things that help create power.”

In a time of few positives around the nation as a result of the coronavirus-fueled shutdown, Hess half-joked one is the program didn’t suffer any injuries during spring practice because there was no spring practice. Carolina was supposed to begin spring work March 17, two weeks later than last year.

Hess believes Michael Carter (8) and company will be well conditioned when they return to UNC. (Jacob Turner, THI)

Hess asked Mack Brown to push it back two weeks from it commenced a year ago so the players could get in eight weeks of training before beginning spring practice, which would have been 15 practices, including the spring game set for April 18. All but two other ACC teams had anywhere from five to 10 practices in by the time the ACC cancelled all team-related activities for the rest of the spring semester, which ends in early May.

So, depending on when the players return, the Tar Heels could have a modified pro-style mini-camp in June or perhaps early July before convening for fall camp in early August.

Until then, be it in a month or four months, his mission is for the Tar Heels to be as ready to jump in and go as soon as they return.

“Our biggest goal is we want to make sure that they have a good foundation of conditioning, a good foundation of strength,” Hess said. “So, whenever they do get turned back to campus, we can roll right into our training and kind of have a good base already laid down.”

And norm can then be restored.