CHAPEL HILL - New North Carolina running backs coach Larry Porter met with the media for the first time Thursday after officially being unveiled by the program on Jan. 29.
Porter, a 25-year coaching veteran and two-time national recruiter of the year, previously worked under UNC Coach Mack Brown at Texas in 2013 and was the running backs coach at UNC under Larry Fedora from 2014-2016.
Among the topics discussed were Porter’s decision to return to Chapel Hill, his running back room, recruiting and much more.
Below are some notes and quotes from Porter's presser:
*Having coached at Carolina before, Porter is no stranger to Chapel Hill and the university.
Porter spent the last four seasons at Auburn where he served as the tight ends coach, running backs coach and, for the past three seasons, the special teams coordinator. Porter was not retained by new Auburn Coach Bryan Harsin, however, after Gus Malzahn was fired on Dec. 13, 2020 after eight seasons at the helm.
So, besides being on the job market, what went into Porter’s decision to return to UNC?
“For starters, Coach Brown,” Porter said. “For me, he’s a great leader, he’s a man's man and he's been a mentor and a friend for years. So, as you move forward in life, you start to value and cherish different relationships and my relationship with him is one that I truly cherish and am looking forward to strengthening.”
Brown isn’t the only reason Porter took the job.
“The second thing is, Carolina is a special place,” Porter said. “It's a great product and I believe in the mission and values that are set forth here with this university meaning that, when you look at Carolina, it's an elite academic culture here and you get an opportunity to have a world class education.
“Also, it's an elite athletic culture here, meaning for years they've competed for the Directors Cup. And then an elite social culture. Just being able to, and this was one of the things that profoundly impacted me when I was here the first time, was this elite social culture with the students here in terms of just being around people with motivated minds, progressive thinkers and visionaries.”
*Carolina is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, finishing 8-4 overall, 7-3 in the ACC and earning an Orange Bowl berth, the program’s first major bowl appearance since 1950.
Despite losing to Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl, expectations around the program are only going up as they prepare for the 2021 season, which kicks off at Virginia Tech, either on Thursday, Sept. 2 or the next day. That hasn’t yet been determined.
For Porter, the increased success of the program under Brown’s leadership in just over a two-year period has him excited for what the future holds.
“We’re, I say ‘we’ being that I’m a part of it now, on the cusp of doing something very special here at Carolina,” Porter said. “I think it's just a matter of time, and probably a lot sooner than later, that we're putting ourselves in a position to be amongst the elite in college football.”
Porter also believes the program has changed a lot since his first stint at UNC ended some five years ago.
“It all starts with leadership,” Porter said. “You look at what Coach Brown has done, he's not only given the players a different perspective in terms of Carolina football, but I think he's given the Carolina family as a whole a different perspective. You look at it as more of a national brand now.”
*Porter returns to UNC as one of the top recruiters in the country, with Rivals naming him the National Recruiter of the Year twice, in 2007 and 2009, when he was at LSU.
So, what’s Porter’s strategy when it comes to recruiting?
“Well, it's not my strategy, it's coach Brown’s strategy, it’s Carolina’s strategy,” Porter said. “It’s what are we doing from the standpoint of just, we look at a kid’s skill set, when you look at their academic career and also their character. All of those things play a big part of it and then, in all that, what does coach Brown think is gonna put us in a position to be champions at the end of the day? So, I’m here to fit in and to help grow the vision he has set out for us to start to compete for championships."
What does Porter think he brings to the table when it comes to recruiting?
“A wealth of experience,” he said. “He's (Brown) putting me in some areas I think that, you know, he talked about me being in Charlotte as well as Atlanta. And it's areas that I feel truly have an abundance of talent. And then me using some relationships that I've built over the years to be able to go in and feel comfortable and have an impact.
“But, relationships are extremely important when it comes to recruiting. I think that's kind of where it all starts and I feel like I have that aspect of it. I understand what it takes, or the profile of a Carolina kid, and so I believe I’ve got a really good feel for that. And two, just from a character standpoint, how does this kid make us better?”
*Having only been in the job for a week, Porter hasn’t had too much time to learn about his new running back room yet.
Among the faces in his room are Tennessee grad transfer Ty Chandler, British Brooks, Josh Henderson, DJ Jones, Elijah Green, Kamarro Edmonds and Caleb Hood, making UNC’s running back group one of the deepest on the team.
Despite still being so new to the job, Porter is excited about the talent he has at his disposal and is actively working to get to know his players and their abilities.
“I've met with every kid, every player that's in our room, I've also spoken with all the parents,” Porter said. “So just trying to get to know them and, obviously, it’s a very young room. And Ty is one that has some video evidence of who he truly is as a college football player, so I've had an opportunity to peek at him as well as go back and find high school video on some of these other guys and also some Carolina video.
“But, at the end of the day, I think it'll be the spring that speaks to me in terms of their skill set and what they're capable of doing. That will allow me to truly have a great perspective in terms of how I can help them, how they can help the team and where we need to go from there.”
*While the Heels have a ton of bodies at the running back position, they’re still extremely young and inexperienced.
Brooks and Henderson only played a combined 85 snaps last season, most of which came in the blowout win over Western Carolina and in the Orange Bowl after Michael Carter and Javonte Williams opted out and declared for the NFL Draft.
Jones and Green, both true freshmen, didn’t see much action either, with most of their snaps coming against the Catamounts.
The only real experienced back in the room is Chandler, who ran the ball over 400 times at Tennessee and currently ranks fifth in UT history in all-purpose yards.
Even with his group being so young, Porter’s expectations remain the same.
“I’ve always believed that there's one right and there's one responsibility that every young man has when they put on a helmet, and that is they have a right to expect the very best from their teammates, but they also have a responsibility to give their best,” Porter said. “And, as long as we can make sure that both of those are front and center and that they're demanding of themselves as well as their teammates, then we can grow their leadership because the most important thing is building trust with your coaches as well as your teammates.
“And so, when they see that you’re out there just giving your all to Carolina every single day, it's a lot easier to communicate and demand from them. And, from there, it's about confidence. Being able to step up each and every day and demand from your teammates. And knowing that, at times, there could be some pushback and then, at times, there could be some, ‘Okay, let's go.’
“So, it's a process. We won't try to rush it, but there will be a standard that they all will be held accountable for each and every day. And I think, through that, will come the confidence to be leaders and also the confidence to be demanding on a daily basis of themselves as well as their teammates.”