Spring Practice Report: Duck & Barnes On Progress & More

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its 10th practice of the spring Thursday morning, and afterward, three Tar Heels met with the media via zoom to discuss how things have gone and how they are coming along.

Here are videos of Q&A sessions with junior cornerback Storm Duck and junior offensive lineman William Barnes and some notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

Note: We are running a report on what senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said separately.

*Duck was injured in the second game of last season, a win at Boston College, and was lost for the rest of the year. However, he nearly returned in December but opted not to.

“Actually, I’d say the last two games of the season, I was in a decision whether I wanted to come back and play or should I just sit out and wait it out,” he said. “I was actually practicing before the Miami game (and) and little bit before the Orange Bowl game. Personally, I didn’t feel like the time was right for me to come back.

“I wasn’t going to play at the level I was playing at the beginning of the season, so I figured it was best for me to sit out.”

*Duck said watching and not being able to play was a major challenge, but he found ways to improve even when unable to get onto the field. Film room was big, as well as a few other things.

“The first thing I had to do was mentally, I’d never been in the position to where I’d sat out – I’ve never missed a whole football season in my life,” he said. “Mentally, I feel like I had to mature a lot and get to know the playbook better.

“Knowing what different players are doing, like leverages and splits and all that and how to play them. But overall, I feel like mentally get right, and that’s really what helped me. Getting my mind right is what got me through that.”

*One of the other things Duck did when not playing was he watched the other guys at his position. Two players, in particular, stand out, and Duck offered his thoughts on Kyler McMichael and Tony Grimes.

“Kyler and Tony are two great players,” Duck said. “They come out every day and battle and compete. We come out every day and try to make each other better and those two, they come out and bring it every day, even if it’s individual drills, one-on-ones, scale team. Those two are really good players, and we just like to battle and compete.”

*Barnes played 88 snaps in the first two games of his true freshman season, but an injury and redshirting slowed things, and then he had trouble getting into the offensive line rotation in 2019 and last fall. UNC Coach Mack Brown said earlier in the week consistency was one of the issues with Barnes, he’d make an outstanding play one snap and then not at all the next.

So, what has been the key for Barnes to become more consistent?

“When it comes to consistency it also started with me going in with (offensive line) Coach (Stacy) Searels and (asking) him what it is on the field he wanted me to be consistent on. And also, when it came to me getting on the field asking coach each play, ‘What can I do better, what’s wrong here, what do I need to do?’

“And after practice meeting with him. And also when it comes into the weight room as well. Getting a chance to get on the heavy bag and start punching it. I knew I had to get serious when I came out here for spring ball because it was time for me to get on the field.”

*Getting down to the right weight and staying there has been another important factor for Barnes, as he has now worked his way into the rotation. Eating right and sticking with it are the keys, he says.

“I feel like losing weight was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do while I was here, because like all big men, I love eating,” Barnes said. “It was really difficult to stay on the routine the trainers were giving me.

“But once I learned that I had to do this for more than myself, I started thinking about my family, my teammates who are all depending on me, it kind of just sunk in that I had to get right and had to start eating right. And it just got easier from there, and that’s what got me down to about 316 right now.

*So, what is it Barnes started eating on a regular basis that has worked for him?

“Big change I had to take out carbs,” he said. “First, I had to go on a really low carb diet, and at one point I had to take it out completely because I was just eating carbs all the time. Kind of like how it is on the field, just staying consistent with my meals and how I eat and how I talk to my trainer about what’s best for me.”

Note: Barnes said he’s playing guard and tackle with spring filling in with the ones for Jordan Tucker and Marcus McKethan, and with the twos he’s rotating with true freshman Diego Pounds.