THI TV: Longo Talks Ground Game Struggles, WRs & More

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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo met with the media Monday for his weekly press conference and discuss what was learned from the loss to Notre Dame while looking ahead to Saturday’s game versus Virginia Tech.

Longo spoke at length about the offense’s troubles running the ball on early downs and what it must do to improve in that area, as well as the running back rotation, what he saw from Josh Downs and Antoine Green being back in the lineup, and more.

Above is video of Longo’s presser and below are some notes, pulled quotes, and time markings from what he had to say:

*1-min mark: What must the offense do to run the ball better?

Longo said Notre Dame is “really good, and that’s going to be as good a front seven as we will see all year. That’s no excuse, you’ve got to run the ball anyway.”

Longo said they were “85 percent efficient when we threw the ball on first down,” but a problem was the Tar Heels managed five yards on 12 attempts on first down, which includes a pair of sacks. Overall, on first and second downs, UNC had 18 attempts for 24 yards. We outlined these issues last week, and the problems were much worse versus the Fighting Irish.

“That’s not where we want it, and it’s the issue right now.”

UNC had three three-and-outs, which is the national average, “but it’s a lot for us.”

The other thing about the running numbers versus Notre Dame is Longo said once the Irish built a big lead early in the third quarter, the Tar Heels “got into two-minute mode more.”

*3-min mark: UNC uses four running backs, and Longo said they need to cut that back some, similar to what Mack Brown said.

He also said the backs were part of the issue, it wasn’t just the offensive line getting beaten on a regular basis.

“I’m going to challenge the running backs this week, and I know (RB) Coach (Larry) Porter will. We can’t keep rolling through four.”

*5-main mark: Is there a common thread in issues running on early downs, as it’s been a problem in some respects in each game, especially that last three?

As for the point of the problem, he said, “It’s been something different each game.”

*7-min mark: Longo discussed more about needing to tighten the running back rotation, but it’s not as easy as it may seem to some, it’s complicated given the different skill sets the players have.

*9-min mark: UNC has had success on fourth down this season converting six of eight attempts, including scoring a couple of touchdowns.

Longo said one thing he really likes about Mack Brown is he lets him know before second down if they will go for it on fourth in that area of the field, considering it’s a reasonable distance. This helps Longo with play calling in advance of fourth downs.

“To know that as a play caller, gives me an opportunity to maybe play some calls on third down a little bit differently. If it’s third-down-and-13, and we pop eight or nine yards and don’t get the first down, depending on where we are in the game and on the field, we might be more willing to go for it.

“He always lets me know. I’ve never been where the head coach tells you as early as he does when you have four downs.”

*12-min mark: Back to the running backs, Longo said they will all battle this week and must separate themselves.

“Having four talented kids in the backfield is a good problem” but playing each of them can be a problem because certain guys need more game reps.

*15-min mark: Virginia Tech’s defense. West Virginia is similar to UNC, so that film helps a lot.

*17-min mark: Longo was asked in what ways Drake Maye is ahead of Sam Howell at this stage through the first four games. Longo noted Howell was a true freshman and Maye had been on campus for around 20 months by the time he started. But still a very interesting response.

*19-min mark: Maye’s interception at Georgia State is one of the plays UNC sent in to the officials’ office for review saying it was a pass interference. They got a response and were correct. The officials acknowledged a flag should have been thrown on that play.

*20-min mark: With Josh Downs and Antoine Green back, Longo was pleased with how both responded in Sunday’s practice, and they are absolutely a full go moving forward. He also said he talked with Kobe Paysour about having a slightly different role. Paysour caught 13 passes for 165 yards and two TDs in the games Downs missed. Saturday versus Notre Dame, he had one catch for seven yards.

The same went for J.J. Jones and Gavin Blackwell, each of whom got additional reps the first three games with Green out.

“The negative is, sitting up there with the staff, how do we effectively use all of them? And the positives are those two came back and scored four of our five touchdowns and some big plays in the game.”