CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina is formally in game-week mode now that its first game is just five days away. And that means UNC Coach Mack Brown held his first weekly press conference of the season Monday.
Brown discussed aspects of his team, position groups, run schemes, some new names for Tar Heels fans to learn, Diego Pounds getting work on the offensive line, Alijah Huzzie working some at star, that this is the best staff he’s had, Tez Walker, the Gamecocks, the importance of this game, the opportunity it presents, and much more.
UNC and South Carolina kickoff at 7:30 on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The game will air on ABC.
Above is video of Brown’s presser, and below are some notes from what he had to day:
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*Injury notes: True freshman tight end Julien Randolph is out for the year with a lower body injury; any other injuries will be updated before the game Saturday.
*The new training facility inside the Kenan Football Center is 5-and-a-half times larger than the previous one, Brown said.
*UNC opens the season ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, something Brown doesn’t take lightly. He understands it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but is still worth recognizing.
“I’m very, very proud of our program that we’re a top-(25) program in the preseason, understanding the postseason is what matters, not preseason. But at least people think we have a chance to be good. We’re on ABC primetime in our opening game on Saturday night against a really good opponent, and we’ve got College GameDay for the third time in the history of our program.”
*Brown said they wanted to host a Week Zero game this season, but the NCAA didn’t permit it. Apparently, it didn’t want a school to play on that weekend in consecutive years. Brown says he’d like to every season.
*Brown says this is the best coaching staff he has assembled. It has a nice mix of NFL and major college guys, plenty of brain trust. He added: “Now we’ve got to take that knowledge to Saturday night.”
*Guys who will play more than in the past:
-Beau Atkinson and Jacolbe Cowan at DE. “Both of them should play Saturday night.”
-Amare Campbell at ILB “(He’s) done really, really well as a freshman linebacker… He will play on Saturday night.”
-D.J. Jones at star (after moving over from running back.) “He’ll get to play Saturday night.”
-Tayon Holloway at CB. “He’s done a good job at corner. He’s a young guy that came in with two shoulder operations and didn’t play last year. He’s got length, he can run, he’s a really good cover guy, he’s got good skills.”
-Diego Pounds at offensive tackle. “(He) has improved a lot. He and Trevyon Green; Trevyon’s fighting a couple of injuries, but he will be back and ready for the game… Diego will play, and he’ll rotate (at tackle) with Will Barnes and Spencer Rolland.”
*Backup QB Conner Harrell hadn't been consistent until just recently, and Brown says he has major considerable progress. He said Harrell "has had a great preseason. We're really excited about seeing where he is and where he's going."
*UNC’s compliance is handling the Walker situation. It’s not certain where that process is, as the NCAA doesn’t communicate much to UNC, but there is hope Tez may have a chance perhaps say something to the “committee” that will decide his case.
*Brown loves the depth of the defensive front. Also likes that it’s an older group, so dealing with the new clock rules might be easier for the D-line than if it was a younger unit.
*Speaking of the new rule that the clock won’t stop after first downs except during the last two minutes of each half, Brown made no bones about it, he does not like it. He says will lose 9-12 plays a game (makes it harder to play more guys), and teams that can run the ball can run out the clock easier. There will be fewer comebacks.
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