CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with a group of assembled media inside the Bill Koman Football Practice Complex following the Tar Heels’ last workout in advance of the spring game, which kicks off Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.
Brown provided a thorough update on how the team has looked during the spring, marking over each position group, plus he discussed the team’s improved attitude, enhanced physicality in practice, the need for leaders to step up, the quarterback battle, needing running backs to step up, the small numbers at wide receiver, and much more.
Brown also discussed the spring game, how it will be scored, and some other things related to that.
Above is the video of Brown’s Q&A session, and below are some notes from what he had to say:
Note: A family situation came up and THI had to leave before Brown was finished answering questions. We apologize, but it was something medical related and we had no choice but to close out before it was finished.
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*The team will honor WR Tylee Craft at the spring game Saturday, calling the game #TyleeStrong, as the junior is battling cancer that was fairly recently discovered.
“He’s doing very well,” Brown said about Craft. “Treatments are responding, and hopefully he’ll feel well enough to be there on Saturday. They made some buttons for him.
“It’s probably changed some things that our team looks at differently just because one of their teammates comes in one day with a bad back, and the next day he’s got cancer. And it changes how all of us think, because we know that could be us tomorrow.”
*Brown spoke highly about the transition with four new staffers, including OL Coach Jack Bicknell. We noted plenty about the offensive line in a report earlier on Thursday, and among the things that was impressive about Bicknell was how he taught the players. Brown went in that direction when discussing the new OL coach.
“Jack Bicknell is one of the best teachers I’ve ever seen,” Brown said. “When you’re a head coach for eight or nine years, you obviously understand the whole picture, and that helps me. But at the same time, here’s guy that spent seven years as an offensive line coach in the NFL, and ever young guy that goes to college football wants to play in the NFL.
“So it really helps us in recruiting and helps us with guys out here because he is such a great teacher, they know what he’s teaching them they’re going to be taught when they get to the NFL.”
*The positives Brown noted:
---“We’re a talented team”
---“Probably the most talented overall since we’ve been here.”
---“We have a lot of young players that have a chance to be real good.”
---“We can run, you could see that today. We can run on defense, we’ve got speed on offense.”
---(True freshman) “George Pettaway gives us a different gear at running back.”
---“This team has a great attitude.” Brown said it wasn’t consistent a year ago and the players weren’t always totally bought in. He sees a significant difference between right now and this time a year ago.
*The concerns Brown noted:
---“They’re young. So, you constantly have to work on teaching leadership, and who’s going to be the guy.”
---Brown said former Tar Heel running back Michael Carter saw the team a couple of weeks ago and said, “I see a really good team that’s trying hard, I don’t see enough alpha dogs stepping up.”
---A point system has been put in for practice where someone wins and loses each competition, regardless of what it is. “We’re tying to put the emphasis on those situations, “Who’s going to step up now? Offense is ahead 5-2, so c’mon defense, who’s going to step up?”
---Carolina has just six scholarship wide receivers available. “We’ve got some receivers coming in, but we’ve got to get more depth at that position as much as we throw it.”
---The QB (Drake Maye vs. Jacolby Criswell) battle is ongoing: “We’ve got inexperienced quarterbacks. Both are very talented. We like what we see out of Conner Harrell. So, our quarterback room is really healthy but it’s young, and they have to respond. We’re putting as much game pressure on them every day as we can.”
*Overall: “As talented as we are, we still don’t know who we’re going to be until we play. I like the team, I like the way they’re working. Are we gonna be any good? Who knows. That’s something we’re going to have to look at in the fall.”
*Early enrollees: “The early eight enrollees are all really good. We tell the early enrollees, ‘You’re high school seniors, we’re not going to ask you to be college football players yet. Your spring is to learn; learn what to do, and by the time we get to the fall, it will be time for you to compete,’ because they’ll be like sophomores.”
*Various notes:
---Harvard OL transfer Spencer Rolland is up to 300 pounds. He has not enrolled yet, but will be in Chapel Hill later next month.
---Jonathan Kim has won the placekicking job, and he will also be the kickoff specialist as well.
---OLB Kaimon Rucker sung the national anthem at the Final Four this past weekend. “I’m really proud of Kaimon Rucker for singing the national anthem at the Final Four. I wouldn’t have enough guts to do that; they wouldn’t ask me, but I wouldn’t have enough guts. He did a great job. I’m very, very proud for him.”
---Junior Cedric Gray “has had a great spring” and is the “leader at linebacker.”
---Junior DL Myles Murphy has “been the most dominant front guy.’
---Brown emphasized how the defensive line must be more affective against the run on first and second downs, get a better pass rush, and simply stop offenses. He is applying a lot of pressure and high standard to the defense. “As big and pretty as we are on the (defensive) line we’ve got to make more plays against the run. We’ve got to stop first-down runs.”
---“Travis Shaw is probably 350 pounds, he’s going to be really good. He’s got some weight to lose, and he’s working on that right now. But he’s so strong and so powerful, and as a nose tackle, he’s what we thought he would be and probably better. He’s so athletic in there. He splits double teams.”
*Stay with THI as we continue to roll out more content from the open practice Thursday morning and Brown’s post-practice interview session.
