Kap On The Ground Attack, Power Package, QB & More
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina offensive coordinator Chris Kapilovic met with the media following Tuesday’s practice to discuss his unit’s performance in last Saturday’s loss to Virginia Tech and the situation at quarterback.
Here are some snippets from what Kapilovic had to say:
*UNC continues to rack up explosive runs each game, including runs of 49, 49, 40 and 39 yards in the loss to the Hokies. Yet, the ground game can get better, says Kapilovic, who is also the offensive line coach.
“Obviously, everything. You want to improve, you want to be more consistent. When you’re watching every play of every game, the chances of everybody being exactly right on a play is slim, and that’s what you’re striving for. The focus now is, we’ve established a run game but we haven’t arrived, we have to be consistent with it and we have to continue to improve it. Consistency, that’s the biggest thing. We want it to be consistent and we need to finish, obviously that’s a no brainer. But, I like the direction we’re going, I like our backs a lot and I really feel like our guys up front improve every week.”
*On the play Michael Carter fumbled just before the goal line, UNC was in an actual power package: Nathan Elliott was under center, tight end Jake Bargas was lined up as a fullback, and Carter was behind him. A year ago, when asked why they didn’t employ a true power package in that kind of situation, head coach Larry Fedora replied, “That’s not who we are.” Since the Tar Heels did that Saturday on that play, does that mean they’ve tweaked their philosophy some or was that specific part of the package always there they just hadn’t used it as they did against the Hokies?
“We carry a big package like that every week where we probably have one or two plays out of it, and we pick and choose the spots to use it,” Kapilovic said. “We’re not a team that’s built with the big tight ends and fullbacks, but there’s a place for it and that particular play is just a G scheme. It’s drawn up that the back’s going to be one-on-one with the safety, and you feel like you’re at the 1-yard-line you’re going to win that.
“And really, that’s what happened. Everybody had things up and it was a one-on-one at the goal line and you hope the worst thing that can happen is he gets tackled and it’s second-and-goal from the half yard-line.”
*The quarterback situation has been a major issue all season from Chazz Surratt being suspended before he was injured and lost for the season after playing just one game to true freshman Cade Fortin now likely lost for the season after getting hurt in Saturday’s game. UNC is down to two scholarship QBs – Nathan Elliott and Jace Ruder. Needless to say, this has been a very challenging year for the staff regarding the most important position on the field.
“We’re seeing it play out in front of us,” Kapilovic said. “I think most teams you see that are successful that guy’s got to be good… It’s a situation where you want to have consistency and continuity, so when you’ve got guys revolving through it makes it a little bit tougher.”