Players Tuesday: Tucker, Morales, Tomon Fox, & Grimes

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CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday means some of North Carolina’s players are available to the media to discuss the previous game while looking ahead to the next one.

For UNC, that always means quarterback Sam Howell, whose report we posted separately this week, but also four other Tar Heels.

Here are videos of the full Q&A sessions along with some notes and pulled quotes from Jordan Tucker, Kamari Morales, Tomon Fox, and Tony Grimes:

*UNC allowed eight sacks in the loss at Georgia Tech and has now allowed 14 in its two losses. What has been the primary issue with giving up sacks, and how correctable is it?

“I would say the biggest thing we’ve been harping on, especially after this last week’s film session, really is just effort,” Tucker said. “A big thing that we’re standing by in our pass protection is blocking until the defender turns and runs. As you can see, sometimes people are caught looking around. I know myself, I get caught looking around sometimes, knowing that I think I did a good job, when really I could just keep going that extra second or two.

“That’s probably the biggest thing, just blocking them until they turn and run, because that’s our job. I think it’s really easily correctable. Other things that I’ve touched on, and talked about are communication, I still think we can improve in that. Everyday little things, and I think those are easy things to correct, it’s just that we have to go out, and do them. Recently we haven’t been, so we really just need to lock in, and keep pushing for a positive outcome when it comes to communication, and then just blocking until they’re turning, and chasing the ball.”

*So, with the rash of sacks allowed Saturday night, what is the frustration level in the o-line room with the high number of sacks?

“We’re all a little pissed off,” Tucker replied. “We know as a unit we can do better as a unit. We've shown that we can do better on a daily basis when it comes to practice, and when it comes to games. We know we can’t just walk out there, and expect to not give up sacks, expecting to not give up pressures. We do have practice, and we do watch tape, so those things shouldn’t happen.

“Some of the ways we give up sacks, some of it is unacceptable, some of it you can live and die with, but at the same time, you never want your QB hit. We feel like we’ve taken the proper steps to be a great o-line, and pass protect, but we just have to keep doing better, get back in the film room, and take practice more seriously than ever.”

*The frustration from the players during the game is apparent at times, but when going through a performance like what happened in Atlanta, does it feel like a struggle when you are giving up a high number of sacks, like against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech?

“Every time I see Sam on the ground, whether it’s a sack or not, I feel like our job wasn’t done to the fullest it could be,” Tucker said. “I take that when he scrambles for 20 yards, and he gets hit by six different defenders because we’re taught to sprint to the ball. I catch myself not doing that sometimes, so I gotta be better at that, as well as other people. I know we can do it, we do it all the time in practice, just gotta put it into the game. It’s not necessarily the sacks that make me feel this way.

“It’s dropped passes, hits behind the line of scrimmage, false starts, every little thing that makes me feel that type of anger. Not anger, but frustration. A big motto of our offense is ‘don’t blink,’ so if that happens, we kind of just go on to the next play, and kind of worry about it later once we go into film. Everybody kinda has the mindset, especially when we’re on the field, of ‘don’t blink,’ and just play your play, play your next play.”

*Morales has 12 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns on the season, what is his role in the offense with the increased targets?

“I think the ball has just been finding me,” he said. “I don’t think it’s been a thing of ‘we’re gonna make this a purpose to get Kamari the ball.” I don’t think it’s one of those types of things. I’ve just been going out there, doing my job, and the ball has just been finding me. That’s just how it is.”

*Now that the ball is finding him more, has Morales seen an escalation in his confidence?

“It definitely feels great being able to contribute to the team,” he replied. “I’m just blessed to get the opportunity. I’ve always had confidence in myself, but I would definitely say when you get into a little rhythm like that, it definitely does help you for the next game. Definitely makes you feel confident, but most importantly, I hope that what I’m doing can just make my teammates confident, and all of us can play with that swagger.”

*Now that he has a much bigger role in the offense, what does Morales want to see more from himself?

“I want to win,” Morales said. “I can go for 100 yards every game, but if we don’t win it don’t matter. That’s the most important thing, so if I have zero targets, zero catches, but we win, what can I say?”

*Duke has converted on third downs 57.6 percent of the time so far this season and has scored touchdowns on 14 of its 20 times in the red zone. What has Fox seen on film that UNC must deal with to alter that trend Saturday?

“Duke is very efficient in the run game, so I think that’s what sets up the third downs, not putting them in tough situations or situations they can’t reach,” Fox said. “They also do a good job in their passing game, throwing the quick routes, making sure they convert the down rather than going for the big play. But I feel like from film, we will be able to handle that.”

*Fox has faced Duke five times, including his redshirt freshman year, what overall is different about its offensive attack this season, which is currently rated No. 8 in the nation in total yards averaging 544.5 per game and No. 20 in scoring averaging 38.8 points per contest?

“I think they’re definitely more explosive and more efficient in the run game,” Fox said. “From the four games they’ve played already, you can see that on film. They have a great running back (Mataeo Durant), they have a good quarterback, and they’re just able to keep the drives going.”

*UNC has beaten Duke the last two seasons after dropping three straight to the Blue Devils, which means the Victory Bell has been housed in Chapel Hill since Oct. 26, 2019, when Carolina ended the skin with a 20-17 win. So what is up with the Victory Bell this week as the Heels get ready for the Devils?

“We keep it up here with us,” Fox replied, referring to the Kenan Football Center. “We see it every day in our team meeting room.”

Does it get any action, anyone ever ring it?

“Oh yeah, all the time,” Fox said. “It’s definitely been out on the field during practice this week.”

*The defense struggled in the second half at Georgia Tech and all game the week before versus Virginia, what must be corrected, that you do not want to carry over into this week’s game?

“What we don’t want to happen is have a good first half, and come back in the second half, and have mishaps, we can’t have mishaps,” Grimes said. “We gotta be ten toes every quarter, every drive. I think if we go out, and we compete every single drive, then it’ll make a difference on our defense.”

*Duke is No. 8 in the nation in total offense with a balance of running and passing. What are the Blue Devils doing well through the air so far?

“The quarterback makes good decisions, he’s not scared to throw the ball,” Grimes replied. “He’s not scared to take his shots downfield in man coverage. Their receivers are good, they move all around. They got some receivers that can play in the slot, and that can play outside, so they’re very versatile.

"We just have to be ten toes, and when someone is in the slot, we gotta recognize it, because it may give us a play that we’ve already studied. I think they move the ball very well in the air, so we gotta stop them from throwing it.”

*What’s the mood in the locker room after the disappointing start?

“Beginning of the season, I think we were kinda too big-headed,” Grimes said. “I think losing those games, I won’t say killed our motivation, but it really set us back some. The season’s still early, we still got plenty more games ahead of us, and we can have a good winning season, so that’s our plan right now.

"Everyone’s motivated still, we’re still a team, we’re still working hard, and we’re not getting down ourselves, or discouraged. What we’re saying right now is that games are up for grabs. Each week, there’s not a set team that’s gonna win. Each week it’s a different team winning.”