CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Football Coach Mack Brown met with the media Monday morning for his weekly press conference in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at Virginia on Saturday.
The Tar Heels are coming off an open date in the season, which gave the program a week after the passing of wide receiver Tylee Craft to deal with the emotion from it, including Craft’s memorial service Sunday in Sumter, SC.
Most of Brown’s presser was about Craft, the last week since playing and how he and the staff have worked through the death, mental health, and Sunday’s service. He also spoke about his team from a football standpoint.
Above is video of Brown’s presser and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Note: UNC’s health update was a good one. Tight end Bryson Nesbit it out indefinitely and will not play against Virginia. Everyone else is working their way back.
“We’re in good shape,” Brown said about his team’s health at this point.
*Brown then spoke about the memorial service for Craft. “It was a wonderful and huge crowd.”
He spoke about the impact Craft had on so many people, and that was reflected in the turnout.
About two-thirds of the current team made the trip to the service in Sumter, SC, which is about three hours from Chapel Hill. Several former Tar Heels did, too.
Kamari Morales (plays at BC); Kedrick Bingley-Jones (plays at Miss State); Ray Vohasek (spent last season on Jaguars practice squad); and Jeremiah Gemmer (currently an assistant coach at Wake Forest HS).
*The nutrition center is now formally called the “Tylee Craft Nutrition Center.” A plaque will soon be added in honor of Craft telling his story.
---In addition, “Tylee Strong, Keep Swinging” signs are being added to the stadium where the players enter, and each one will touch it.
---A different receiver will wear No. 13 for the rest of the season.
---Brown choked up when he talked about receiver J.J. Jones speaking at Craft’s service because the loquacious Jones had a hard time. He’d known Craft for years in South Carolina before arriving at UNC.
*The Heels had an open date at the right time. Brown told the team Craft was moving into Hospice care last Thursday and had to explain to some of them what that meant. Every player on the team visited. “If you have something to say to him, you better do it now,” Brown said he told the team the Thursday before the Georgia Tech game, which is when Craft went into Hospice.
---Craft was awake and alert for some of his visitors, but not all of them. His situation, which deteriorated quicky, was dire.
“They could tell it just wasn’t good,” the coach said.
*Brown eloquently spoke about parents losing children and how hard it must be. He again reference Cole Pittman, a player he had at Texas who died in a car accident. That is the only other times a player on a team Brown coached in any capacity, spanning 47 years, has died.
He choked up when discussing that, too.
*The topic then turned to the football team and its four-game losing streak. The Tar Heels have not stopped the run during this stretch, which has derailed everything defensively.
Overall, Brown noted how close his team has been in the last three losses, while still clearly perplexed at how the JMU game could happen. Yet, he also came off as if he knows being close is the same as being far away.
“We’ve got better coaches than the results the last four weeks and we’ve got better players than the results of the last four weeks,” he said, adding they’ve got “to do a better job.”
---The Tar Heels have allowed 918 yards on 163 attempts during the four-game skid, which is an average of 5.63 yards per attempt.
*Brown made a point of noting the uniqueness of what the team has gone through this season:
-OL Coach Randy Clements’ serious ongoing illness that was extremely serious when fall camp opens. He still misses meetings and other things from time to time. He missed one game, coached from the box in another. It has clearly affected the OL’s development.
-Max Johnson’s horrible injury that required numerous surgeries and was in a dangerous state before he returned from Minnesota.
-Tylee Craft’s passing and the players watching him go downhill so fast over the last few weeks.
-4 straight losses in ugly and deflating fashion.
“This team will come out of this season with more life lessons than any team I’ve had.”
*Brown said Craft’s favorite food truck, Tongue Slappers, would be at the football center for the team’s dinner Monday so the players “can eat in Tylee’s honor.”
*More regarding Craft: “We’re not going to forget about Tylee for sure, but we’re going to move forward.”
*The attention now turns to Virginia, which is 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. It has dropped consecutive games.
Brown is impressed with the Wahoos and greatly respects Cavs Coach Tony Elliott. Brown, whose daughter teaches at UVA, noted what Elliott went through two years ago when three players were murdered late in the season.
*Brown spoke about the Hoos on both sides of the ball.
