CHAPEL HILL - Five seniors from North Carolina’s 2020 football team have taken advantage of the NCAA not counting this past season against athletes’ eligibility, and Friday afternoon, they spoke about what went into their decisions in returning to Chapel Hill.

Grayson Atkins, Tyron Hopper, Tomon Fox, Garrett Walston, and Beau Corrales met with the media for about an hour fielding questions about their decisions, futures and what they think about the 2021 Tar Heels.

Here are videos of each interview along with some notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

Note: THI will roll out more content from the interviews over the next week.

*Atkins was 12-for-18 on field goals in 2020 with a breakdown of 4-for-5 from between 20 and 29 yards, 5-for-5 between 30-39, 2-for-4 between 40-49, and 1-for-3 from 50-plus yards. His long was for 51 yards. He was also 63-for-63 on PATs.

*Atkins on why he returned:

“So obviously, with COVID and the craziness, it was a different year for all of us,” Atkins said. “Obviously, being at Furman for three years, it's a lot different environment being in a smaller school. So, the grad program that I'm in, it’s sports administration, so it's a two-year track anyway. So, even if I would have had a good year and pursued the NFL, I'd still have come back.

“My mom's a teacher, so education is gonna be super important. And so, I was gonna finish that, especially with it being paid for. Another big reason is just the team that's coming back, it's definitely a caliber team that it's definitely going to compete for an ACC championship and on into the playoffs. So, just that and the group of guys that are here, the group of specialists.”

*Atkins is confident he struck the ball well and that he can help the Tar Heels from well beyond 50 yards. So what is his actual range?

“So, I don't really know what the graphic was. I know, when we play on ESPN and ABC and stuff, they have that field goal line,” Atkins said. “In a game, normally I’ve told them coming down the stretch, get to the 40-yard line so that's 57 and in. I've hit from 60 in practice, but it's got to come out a little bit lower.

“Obviously, with the bigger bodies here, that's important to kind of get the ball up. So, I don't think I have to press anything until probably outside of 57. So, I don't really have to change anything up past that.”

*Hopper was in on 27 tackles this past season, including two sacks, seven QB hurries and two PBUs. He played 621 snaps this past season, the sixth most on UNC’s defense.

*So why did Hopper decide to return to UNC?

“I had a past with a lot of injuries, so that played a huge role. So, I didn't think I’ve got the snaps and reps that I needed to be successful for the next level,” Hopper said. “So, that played a huge role in coming back.”

*Hopper was already a graduate student this past season, so what program is he in right now and into next season?

“As far as right now, I'm in a postback, but during the summer I'm going to start my graduate certificate program,” he said. “And during the fall, I'll probably start one of the MBA programs.”

*One of the reasons Hopper came back is because of how special he thinks the Tar Heels can be next season.

“And I felt like we have something very special going on at Carolina, so I really wanted to be a part of that,” he said. “We showed it last year and I feel like this upcoming year that we are going to be one of the biggest teams, like we're going to be the hunted next year. So, that played a huge role. And just talking with my family, they felt like I needed to come back. So, that was probably like the final part of me making my decision.”

*Fox had 36 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, seven of which were sacks, seven QB hurries, a forced fumble and recovered fumble, and for his career, and he graded out at 66.2 by PFF playing 687 snaps. For his career, Fox has played 2,517 snaps recording 146 tackles and 21 sacks, which has him tied with Lawrence Taylor for fifth all-time at Carolina.

*Why did Fox decide to take advantage of the NCAA waiver and return for another season?

“It was a tough decision,” Fox said. “There was a lot going back and forth and discussions between my family, the coaches and Tyrone (Hopper), things like that. But the deciding factor was I didn't like the way we ended the year. I felt like we had a lot more potential and that the team could have been way better this year.

“And, as for an individual standpoint, I believe that I have way more left on the table that I can give to Carolina.”

*Fox has NFL aspirations, and it was a part of his decision, so what are some of the things he’s going to do this offseason to help in that quest?

“I have NFL aspirations, but I feel like I need to show more consistency on the field,” he said. “There’s games where I could have done better and I know I could have done better. And that’s what they look for at the next level, just that consistency.”

*Longtime college coach Darrell Moddy is currently a Senior Advisor to the Head Coach at UNC, and one of his duties is to help compile information for the players regarding their possible NFL futures. How did he help Fox come to the decision made by the Georgia native?

“It wasn't more about that, it was just more of a personal decision for me to come back,” he said. “I knew where I stood NFL-wise, through coach (Darrell) Moody and things like that. But it was more just a personal decision for me.”

*Walston caught 19 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns this past season while playing 691 snaps, the most in his career. For his UNC career, Walston has 29 receptions for 350 yards and three TDs. He also has a pair of two-point conversion receptions.

*So why did Walston return to UNC for another season?

“It came down to whether I was just going to go to the NFL or come back,” Walston said. “I never really thought about transferring. And then, towards the end of the year, I've had a bunch of discussions. Pretty much every coach on the staff came up to me and kind of gave me their two cents. And then I talked to my parents about it, talked with Coach (Darrell) Moody, who's kind of in charge of the scouting and all that, and it just made sense for me, for my future goals, to come back.

“And also, after the Orange Bowl and after the season we've had this year, I think the sky's the limit for this team. There's a bunch of young guys that are very talented and I think, next year, this team's gonna take Carolina football to new heights that they've never seen.”

*Sam Howell will be back next season and could begin the campaign as the frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy, so how much did Howell being back affect Walston’s decision?

“Absolutely. I think Sam's the best quarterback in the country,” he said. “And that also played a huge part in me returning because I didn't really look anywhere else because I was like, there's not going to be a quarterback better than Sam anywhere else in the country.”

*Walston originally committed to Georgia before flipping to UNC. John Lilly, the tight ends coach at Georgia at the time, recruited him to Athens. But he was hired last winter as Carolina’s TE coach, and is a major reason Walston chose to come back. He wanted more time with Lilly, who has also coached in the NFL.

“I’ll pretty much say he's probably single handedly the reason I came back, just because I've learned so much under him in one year and we didn't even have spring ball,” Walston said. “So, I think this year with hopefully having spring ball and then having a full camp, and then just being in his office as much as I can, learning some new film and new drills to do on my own, I think that could really help out my game.

“And, like I said, I saw great strides in my game just really a half-year under him.”

*Corrales was limited this past season with an injury, so his numbers were 13 receptions for 238 yards and a TD, and for his career he has 80 receptions for 1,176 yards, and 12 touchdowns.

*Corrales missed most of the season because of a sports hernia he ended up having surgery on. He’s missed time in two of his other three seasons, too, so Corrales made the decision to return when he decided to also have the surgery. What went into his thinking in coming back to UNC?

“There's too many reasons,” Corrales said. “Personally, for me, I just felt like there's too many reasons for me to stay. There's so many reasons, whether it be the amount of playing time I had this past season, I think I only got like four games in. Between the guys we’ve got coming back, we’ve got a Heisman candidate at quarterback, we’ve got a whole offensive line returning.

“There's so many different factors that I can pull from, but I just feel like where we're at as a team and where we're headed, it’s something that I really want to be a part of. And so, just getting the opportunity to be able to come back and enjoy that with my teammates and have one more year with them is something that I wasn't gonna let just pass up. So, I'm grateful for it.”

*Corrales went into detail about making the decision to have surgery and then to come back once the surgery decision was final.

“It was a battle. It was a challenge,” Corrales explained. “I kind of really messed it up, or I kind of noticed that it was messed up, probably right before camp had started. It was starting to get sore and then, once camp really got started and stuff, I was talking with the trainers, with the coaches and stuff and just letting them know how I was feeling. And I mean, there was kind of signs that it was turning into a sports hernia and stuff. And, with the position that we were in at the moment, there's not a lot of guys that get the surgery done and then can come back in the middle of the season.

“So, pretty much the only option that I was looking towards was, obviously I wanted to play, so I was gonna go with whatever gave me the best chance to play and the best shot I had was trying to maintain it throughout the season and I did the best I could. The trainer's were a huge help, the strength staff was a huge help with me just trying to make sure that I was as healthy as I could possibly be.

“But it just got to the point where, whenever you have a core injury like that, especially playing receiver, I'm trying to run full speed routes and then stop on a dime and stuff. And that's just a lot of pressure on your stomach and core muscles and stuff. So, after a while, it just really started to wear on me and I told them once I had decided, once I finally decided that I was going to be coming back for another year, then I went ahead and told him that I was ready to get the surgery done. And then that's where we went from there.”

*Corrales is still rehabbing and has not yet returned to full activities. He spent time going back-and-forth to Texas working with a trainer there as well. He went into detail about that process.

“I'm pretty close. I wouldn't say quite 100 percent yet,” Corrales said. “I'm doing some personal workouts right now with me and the strength staff and myself and I'll probably be back working with the team in a few weeks.

“I'm not exactly sure the timetable and how slow they're easing me back into everything. But just with the timing of my surgery, and then the timing of my rehab… I'm definitely progressing the right way, but I'm not exactly right where I want to be. Just between all the traveling and stuff, I'll probably give it another week or two and I'll be back with the team for sure.”

*Jacob Turner contributed to this report.