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CHARLOTTE – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media Wednesday morning to discuss his team’s game Thursday versus South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, how it has handled COVID testing and protocols, and other aspects about his club and the Gamecocks.
UNC is 6-6 as is South Carolina, and the game kicks at 11:30 AM at Bank of America Stadium. As of now, both teams are planning on playing. The Tar Heels have completed their COVID testing ahead of the game and will be able to play.
Above is video of Brown’s presser and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
*In spite of the concerns over a recent rash of positive COVID tests with the Omicron variant racing through American society, the Tar Heels still got a chance to experience most of the bowl-week activities that were planned. The tailgate by the teams, trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway, taking in a Charlotte Hornets’ game, and a shopping spree at Belk’s were the highlights of the week.
A year ago, when the Tar Heels played in the Orange Bowl, it was all about the game. The Miami area was still in a strong lockdown, so there weren’t many activities.
“This has been a good place for us to come, the guys have had a blast,” Brown said. “With all the COVID issues around and concerns, they’ve still been able to – unlike last year at the Orange Bowl where they didn’t get to go to any functions – they’ve been able to get mostly outside or separated, because we’ve pretty much stayed in a bubble…
“Military Bowl they had a lot of fun, last year it was the game. We went down there on a Thursday night, were there Friday, and played Saturday… But this week, because of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and the Charlotte Sports Foundation, these guys have really had a good time.”
*The Gamecocks and Tar Heels have identical records, and as far as Brown is concerned, the game is even going in. Though, he has plenty of respect for the Gamecocks.
“They beat Florida and Auburn, which are both good football teams,” Brown said. “The most impressive thing for them is they’re thirteenth in the country in turnover ratio. Their secondary has intercepted 10 balls, so they’ve been ball hawks, and they play great defense, and they run the ball and they’re really physical.
“So, it should be a great game, and I’m excited about it.”
*UNC finished its COVID testing earlier this week and will play in the game. If any players tested positive, Brown has been encouraged by doctors to not reveal the number of players affected, but did say it’s “minimal to none.”
He wasn’t sure what South Carolina’s status was, though, because there hasn’t been any direct communication between the staffs about either team’s testing. Gamecocks Coach Shane Beamer said earlier Wednesday, “At no point this week did I think we were in danger of not playing this game. We’re in good shape and excited about playing.”
Brown met with Beamer on Tuesday night and COVID didn’t come up. Instead, the conversation was more about Beamer’s father, Frank, who entered the College Football Hall of Fame at the same time as Brown. But otherwise, UNC knows little about the Gamecocks’ situation.
“I don’t know anything about South Carolina’s medical situation,” Brown said. “Haven’t asked, haven’t been told, haven’t heard.”
And what happens if they don’t play?
“We’ve had good practice sessions, you’ve had a good bowl experience, and we go home,” Brown said. “That’s just the way it is.
“I’ve told our team, ‘All we can control is us, so let’s don’t be the reason we didn’t play.”
*Brown has said a few times this season he wasn’t really sure what was this team’s identity, and that remains the case a day before its bowl game.
“I think they’re still a mystery,” Brown said, smiling. “They’re a team that got better at the end of the year than they were at the beginning. They’re a team that had entirely too high expectations before the season started… So what I’ve done is change the narrative with them. Instead of everybody talking about how disappointing their year’s been, I’ve told them, ‘You win tomorrow, it’s the third straight winning season only for the second time since 1998.
“‘You seniors will have two of your three bowl games – you didn’t go to a bowl game your first two years.’ So, I’ve tried to take it and turn it into a positive for them because it’s more realistic that that was our expectation.”
*Now that he has had some time to reflect while also seeing the team this month in what he has described as a pseudo spring practice, Brown is pleased with one certain development about his club.
“I’ve thought since probably Florida State, we’ve played really, really hard,” Brown said. “I didn’t like the way our defense played that day after their quarterback had the 60-yard run. It seemed like we just got discouraged and we didn’t play with the same energy in the second half of that game.
“Every other game we’ve played really hard. And if we end up beating Pitt late, which we absolutely had a great chance to do; if we end up beating State late, we’re an eight-win team looking for nine wins tomorrow and we’re not even having these discussions.
“So, the progress is that we beat Wake, who is a top-10 team, we had a great chance on the road to beat Pitt, who won the ACC, and with State, we were down to 1:57 and didn’t finish and they won nine games.
“When you look at those three – Notre Dame, we’re in a fourth-quarter game with them on the road – so we didn’t win the games on the road but we’re there. I told the players, ‘All I’ve ever asked you is gimmie all you got… Give me all you’ve got and find a way to win.’ We’ve got to find a way to win close games at the end, and that’s what we’ve got to do.
“But other than that, we’re there.”
*Ty Chandler went to UNC because of what he saw Michael Carter and Javonte Williams do, and he hoped being in the program a year would enhance his chances at landing in the NFL. Brown said Chandler has helped himself, and with that one thing for certain sticks out about his season at UNC.
“One thing that I didn’t anticipate is that, even in spring, I don’t think he had a great feel for the offense,” Brown said. “And early, it seemed like it wasn’t fitting because it was so different than what he had been in over his time at Tennessee. And then I think parts of Georgia State, but Virginia is when he found it.
“I thought the biggest difference was his confidence. Probably the offensive line’s confidence in him, Sam’s confidence in him, but his confidence in them and the offense. And the offense led the league in rushing and has another thousand-yard rusher. So, of you’re a back and you catch the ball out of the backfield and you can gain a thousand yards in this offense every year, that’s pretty good stuff.”
Chandler has run for 1,063 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.
