Players Tuesday: Murphy, Maye, Allen, Lampkin In Miami Week

CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday during game week means some of North Carolina’s football players are available to the media to field questions about themselves, their position groups, the team, and more.

On tap this week, as the No. 12 Tar Heels prepare to host No. 25 Miami on Saturday night, were Myles Murphy, Drake Maye, Marcus Allen, and Willie Lampkin.

Below are videos of their Q&A sessions along with some notes about what they discussed:

*Murphy discussed the depth along the defensive line, how it enables them to go full-bore when in the game because they don’t have to pace themselves, and how it has elevated everyone’s play.

*He spoke about his performance versus Syracuse (five tackles, one TFL, one QB hurry) being his best this season.

*Murphy was banged up for most of last season with a lingering ankle injury. It was so bad for a while he didn’t even practice but still played in games. Murphy said he tried to push through it too much, and it hurt his performance and development. He’s fully healthy now, and senses his game is taking off.

*Maye spoke Saturday night about a hardcore workout regimen he does in practice that is as exhausting as anything he has done in sports. It’s a drill Tom Brady and Peyton Manning did previously, and Maye says it’s helped his game a great deal.

He says he’s not drifting as much when rolling, as one example. He had some interesting stuff to say about this. The drill is 15 straight minutes.

*Maye discussed his improvement in game management, the kind of stuff that shows he’s more NFL ready. An example was a short toss to Omarion Hampton out of the backfield for a safe gain after quickly going through his progression.

Maye says that has been a major point of emphasis, and he has made progress there.

*Maye now has Tez Walker for game-week preparation, so he spoke quite a bit about that.

*In addition, Maye was asked about having more WR options than a year ago, the team starting out 5-0 but Mack Brown telling them their story hasn’t been written yet, and much more.

*Allen will deal with the best collection of receivers and athletes he’s faced all season this weekend, so he discussed the challenges in playing Miami’s pass catchers.

*Also, Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke has had some success against UNC, so Allen described TVD’s game and how he’s preparing to face him.

*The Tar Heels are playing tighter coverage than a year ago much of the time because the front is getting more pressure on QBs, who have to get rid of the ball quicker. So, Allen said, they’ve been able to tighten the coverage to defend shorter, quicker tosses.

*Lampkin said the Minnesota and Pittsburgh games were the first times in his football career, going back to little league, he has ever missed a game. He wanted to give it a go, but was advised against it, so he sat those two games and then the bye week. He returned for the win over Syracuse and was almost 100 percent.

*Lampkin is just 5-foot-11, but he’s learned to use his height to an advantage by getting great pad level on defensive linemen, and whoever else he blocks. He said linebackers and DBs give him a lot of junk on the field for being short, and sometimes linemen do, too. But they quickly learn.

*Though he’s only 5-11, Lampkin said his wingspan is “6-7, 6-8,” and he uses it to his advantage as well. Not to mention he was a state champion wrestler in high school.

*Can Lampkin play in the NFL despite his size? He says he can, and that the league looks at him more as a center than a guard. But it’s clear Lampkin wants to show them he can play guard. With another year of eligibility to play in 2024, he said he could move over to center to show the NFL he can play guard and center against P5 opponents at a high level.