CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina junior safety Will Hardy met with the media Tuesday to discuss how the Tar Heels have played of late, the defense getting turnovers, candy bars and cookie cakes from coordinator Geoff Collins, Wake Forest, and more.

UNC hosts Wake on Saturday at Kenan Stadium for an 8 PM kickoff.

Above is video of Hardy’s Q&A session and below are some notes from what he had to say:

*UNC Coach Mack Brown spoke quite a bit Monday about playing in a bowl game. Hardy discussed it as well, as the Heels (5-4 overall, 2-3 ACC) need one more win to become bowl eligible.

*With plenty of talk around the program of late regarding sophomore linebacker Amare Campbell stepping up as a leader and one of the top players on that side of the ball, Hardy offers his thoughts about Campbell taking over the defense and how he’s played.

*Collins rewards defensive players for forcing turnovers in practice by giving them candy bars. King Size, that is. Hardy’s favorite are Kit Kats, but he saves them for the offseason. He also said forcing a turnover in a game gets a player a cookie cake. Hardy’s favorite there is one with M&Ms on top.

Hardy also said Collins does pushups in practice to reward the defense.

*In addition, Hardy discussed how the vibe is different inside the Kenan Football Center now than it was the last time the Tar Heels played a home game five weeks ago. He also discussed why the defense has registered 17 sacks over the last two games; grabbed four interceptions the last two games; Beau Atkinson’s new nickname “Beau Sackinson,” and much more.