CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Football Coach Mack Brown met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center for his weekly press conference in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at home this Saturday against Georgia Tech.
UNC is coming off a 34-24 loss to Pittsburgh and has dropped three consecutive games falling to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are 4-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The game Saturday kicks off at noon and will air on The CW.
Above is video from Brown’s presser and below are some notes from what he had to say:
Note: UNC announced before the presser that running back Darwin Barlow is still working his way back to the lineup; Kaimon Rucker, who played on some third downs against Pitt, is working toward a bigger role this week as his condition will allow; and long snapper Spencer Triplett (upper body) is being evaluated. WR Christian Hamilton remains out.
*Saturday’s game sponsor is Cancer Awareness, with UNC WR Tylee Craft as the honored person for the game. Craft, who has been battling cancer for three years, went into the hospital before the game this past Saturday. Brown didn’t learn about that until after the Heels’ loss. Craft was still in the hospital as of Monday morning.
Brown also noted that tight end Cal Tierney has also been battling cancer since last spring.
*Brown wore a “Tylee Strong” shirt for his presser and says he will wear one all week. UNC has produced numerous shirts honoring Craft, and some players seen around the football center Monday were also wearing shirts honoring Craft.
*Carolina has not scored a point in the fourth quarter of its two ACC games. Brown said he discussed this at length with offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey and they have to find a way to figure out the problem. As a side note, the defense has allowed 24 points in the fourth quarters of the same games, so the tally the last two weeks in the fourth quarter is opponents 24, UNC 0.
*UNC was 2-for-6 on fourth downs against Pitt, and Brown said each time analytics said to go for it. It actually said to go for a fourth-and-2 at its own 33-yard-line midway through the third quarter, but Brown overruled and the Heels punted.
Brown relies heavily on analytics, as most coaches do, and using it helps the staff make game decisions on Thursdays. That’s when they determined they would go for it on many fourth downs against Pitt.
Mack said they didn’t have analytics as we know it when he was at Texas, but they sometimes would plan in manners that now resemble what analytics suggests they do. In going for it on fourth down so often, he says it invokes confidence in the offense plus the percentages are in their favor over the course of a game
*The Tar Heels allowed eight more explosive plays against the Panthers, and they proved to be back breaking. It was too much for the Heels to overcome. Brown said if the problems were the same each week, “usually you change the player.” But then noted the fine line is notable improvement and that it’s coming, and they emphasized positives to the team Sunday. They were very good for 68 snaps, but not for eight. And it cost them the game.
*Kaimon Rucker was back in action against Pitt after missing four straight games. He played just nine snaps, as the plan was to use him in the “Psycho Package” on third downs.
The staff learned last Thursday that Rucker would play but was limited. They discussed with him about playing on just certain third downs, and Rucker was fine with it, he just wanted to get out there and help the team.
*Brown was asked several questions about when he was first at UNC and how he knew the program was turning the corner, the low point (home loss to Navy), and the 1995 team that was 3-3 but made a bowl and built something that fed into the top-10 seasons of 1996 and 1997.
