Players' Monday: Green, Duck, Vohasek, Echols, Chandler & Howell

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CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday is normally when North Carolina’s football players are made available to the media on game weeks, but with the Tar Heels playing at No. 25 Pittsburgh on Thursday night, the short week means Monday interviews.

Below are full videos and a few excerpts of interviews with six Tar Heels: Antoine Green; Storm Duck; Ray Vohasek; Power Echols; Ty Chandler; and Sam Howell.

When Antoine Green got off the bus at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 30 and walked into UNC’s locker room, he had 11 receptions for 253 yards and one touchdown through the Tar Heels’ first seven games of the season. When he walked out of Kenan Stadium on Saturday evening following UNC’s win over Wake Forest, Green has 22 catches for 419 yards and three scores.

So, in the last two games, both against teams in or near the top 10, Green hauled in 11 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. So, what has been the difference for him since the bye week leading to vastly increased production?

“I’d say the difference has been I feel like I’m playing more instinctively,” Green said. “Of course, I’ve been talking about confidence, but I feel like I’ve been playing more instinctively, and targets have come my way, too, and I just trust (offensive coordinator) Coach (Phil) Longo in getting the ball to me.

“But it’s not about me. I just want to win at the end of the day.”

Playing instinctively in many cases means being loose, and athletes often recall the moment or stretch in which their games shifted. What was it for Green: Conversations with wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway, Longo, something else?

“I think it started back in the spring,” Green said. “And they just told me to go out and be myself because they know what type of athlete I am, and I know what type of athlete I am. They just told me to fall back on myself and just be me.”

From Oct. 3 of last season through this past Saturday morning, Storm Duck played just four snaps in a college football game. A starter and future NFL player, UNC head coach Mack Brown has said about Duck multiple times, he missed so much time do to an injury that just wouldn’t heal.

He tried playing against Virginia in September, but after four snaps just couldn’t go. So he and the staff decided the best approach was for Duck to fully heal before getting back on the field. So last Sunday, a day after the Tar Heels lost at Notre Dame, Duck told his coaches he wanted to give it a go. And he more than did that.

Duck played 71 snaps in a 58-55 win over then-No. 9 Wake Forest, grading out at 74.7. Wake threw the ball his way nine time, but Demon Deacons caught just three passes. Duck played well.

“I feel like the most difficult part of that was patience, me being patience with the timing and everything,” Duck said, discussing the long process in between playing in a win at Boston College 13 months ago until Saturday.

“It’s all part of God’s plan. I was happy to come out there and this weekend and just play football. Coming out there with the guys and just being able to lace the cleats up and just play ball, that was a really good thing.”

Playing 71 snaps is a lot for guys who have been playing each week, but what about Duck, did fatigue become a factor?

“Honestly, in my mind, it’s the mindset it’s the same game I’ve been playing,” Duck said. “So coming out there I knew I had a job to do and I felt like I did what I had to do. Always, there are things to work on.”

Next man up became a reality for true freshman inside linebacker Power Echols when senior Jeremiah Gemmel was disqualified from the win over Wake Forest for a targeting call. It happened at the end of the first quarter, so Echols, who had played just 23 defensive snaps leading up to the game, was called on.

His performance? He played 64 snaps, registered seven tackles, had a QB hurry, and got a ton of meaningful reps on film.

“At first, honestly, nobody knew on the field he had gotten kicked out of the game,” Echols said. “So, we were walking out there (end of the quarter) coaches were telling me to ready. And I’m like, kickoff’s not gonna happen, we’re on defense right now.’

“Gemmel got called for targeting, and I’m like, ‘Oh.’ He’s (Tommy Thigpen) like, next up, you ready?’ And I was like, ‘I was born ready.’ So, I just went out there and stepped up.”

Echols said he didn’t get fatigued, even though he played much more than in any college game previously. He said he “just balled,” which comes from being born ready. So what does being born ready mean to Echols?

“Just taking every day in practice like it’s my last,” Echols said. “Knowing nothing’s given, everything is earned. I bank hard on out-working everybody. Hard work is where my gift stems from. I’m not the biggest, not the fastest, not the strongest, but one thing I will do is work.

“And I feel like all the work that’s been put up to this moment from me being six years old all the way to me being 18 and in this position has paid off just for that moment. Just being ready when my name is called on.”