Note: Because Brown’s press conference Monday went more than 35 minutes, it exceeded the video’s maximum length, so it is split up into two parts and is posted below this report.

CHAPEL HILL – Mack Brown and his Tar Heels are in bowl preparation mode, and the excitement level around the Kenan Football Center is palpable.

North Carolina missed out on the bowl festivities the last two seasons, but with a new staff and new culture, prepping for their Dec. 27 game versus Temple is a celebration for achieving something tangible, but also an opportunity to continue ascending.

“We’re excite d that we’re going to the Military Bowl for a number of reasons,” Brown said. “It’s close, so all of our guys can drive and they get to make money because they get mileage, so they’ll hop in a van and a bunch of them will go up together and they get to split the money, so that helps them for one thing.

“And then it’s also close enough for a lot of our fans to get there and the parents can go see their children play and also the high school coaches. We also want to recruit a lot in the North Virginia and Maryland area, so we’ll have an open practice our first practice there on the 23rd. All the recruits can come, even though we can’t talk to them.”

Here are some more nuggets and quotes from what Brown had to say during his press conference Monday:

*The Tar Heels started practicing this past Saturday and are going four straight days before taking Wednesday off, which is also signing day. They will practice Thursday and Friday before the players are allowed to go home for about a day-and-a-half. They then must report to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 22. They will practice Dec. 23 and 24, do something light Christmas Day and the 26th.

*Every player not out for the season is healthy and will play in the bowl game. That does not include quarterback Jace Ruder, who will not play. Brown said the team will have more depth for the bowl game than at any time during the regular season.

*Brown also noted that he expects 25 prospects to sign Wednesday and 12 are enrolling early. THI will run a complete list Tuesday of who is signing and who will enroll in January.

*The Tar Heels will basically have 10 practices before the bowl game, beginning this past Saturday. Teams are allowed as many as 15, but with the player-led workouts and conditioning, they’ve been plenty busy with football since taking a week off after defeating N.C. State.

The first few practices have been treated more like spring practices, Brown said.

“We are taking these practices and we’re working part of it them like spring practice for the young ones,” Brown said. “And, we have told the young ones you are earning playing time right now and in spring practice. We have 15 practices in the spring, three of them are in shorts so you’ve really got twelve, so this is spring practice for us.

“We are taking those guys and anytime there we’re putting them in inside drills, we’re really being physical with the young guys and asking them to compete so we can see exactly who they are if they haven’t played a lot this fall.”

*Last December was the first time Brown had to del with an early signing period, and he said it was quite challenging for a new coach trying to put together a staff while also making decisions on kids that had committed while also looking for new ones. A year later, he’s had to continue recruiting committed prospects, of which there are 26, while also getting ready for a bowl game. Has the early signing period affected getting ready for a postseason game?

“It hasn’t,” Brown said. “I tried to see all 12 guys that are coming in early before they get here because I wanted them to be there and I think I’ve got 11 of the 12. One I’ll have to go to later and it will be local so it will be easy for me to have him run home and sit. And then I’ll see all of the other guys in January that are coming in in June…

“But I don’t think it’s been a problem at all. I really think the biggest issue is the new coach. It’s a nightmare for the new coach.”

*The upward trajectory of the UNC program includes continued facilities upgrades. Brown managed to get a lot of things in during his first season, so next on the list is to take the initial improves to another level.

“At some point, and we’re in the process of raising money now, we’ve got to enlarge the whole bottom floor,” Brown said. “The rest of the building is really good, but we’ll move the training room into the locker room, we’ll move the locker room to the weight room, which will be a 6,000 square foot training room and 8,000 square foot locker room, and then we’re going to knock out he front of the building on the bottom floor and build a 19,000 square foot weight room.

“And then you’ll probably enter and go up the second floor. So we’ve got that in the plans – it’s been in there for a while, but now it’s a real possibility.”

*Jacob Turner contributed to this report.