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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media Wednesday morning for the first time since the Tar Heels concluded the regular season with a loss at NC State on November 26.
And the topic was his team’s spot in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Sam Howell choosing to play in the game, British Brooks deciding to take advantage of an NCAA COVID rule and return next season, coaching staff evaluations, Brown’s relationship with South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer and his father, legendary former Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer, and much more.
Above is video of Brown’s presser and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
*Former UNC & NFL offensive lineman Harris Barton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, the ninth former Tar Heel inducted into the Hall. Barton was first-team All-America in 1986 and was named the ACC’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman that season, plus Barton was a four-year starter for the Tar Heels.
In the NFL, Barton played 11 years with the San Francisco 49ers, winning three Super Bowls as a starter and being named to the Pro Bowl in 1993.
“I want to congratulate Harris Barton first on being inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame, that's really cool,” Brown said. “He is one of the great players they ever play here, he’s one of the great players to ever play in college football, and then they had just unbelievable career in the NFL.
“I was out recruiting last night, I'm sorry I couldn't be there with him, but that we had a big group of Carolina people out there with Harris. But, I wanna congratulate him and make sure everybody understands and appreciates the things that he's accomplished.”
*Carolina learned Sunday afternoon it will face South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30 in Charlotte.
“Very excited about going to the Duke Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, so this is a good time for our program,” Brown said. “A third straight bowl for the first time since 2016. It will showcase high school football in the states of South Carolina and North Carolina moving forward. The players will have an easy trip and at the same time all their families can come which is so tough in modern-day bowl games, and their fans can be there, so it's great from so many different standpoints.”
*Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018 along with Frank Beamer, whose son is the Gamecocks’ first-year head coach. The matchup would be big for Brown without that connection, but being so close to the Beamers makes it even more special.
“Excited about playing South Carolina, obviously Shane Beamer’s dad, Frank, is a dear friend of mine,” Brown said. “He and I went into the Hall of Fame together. We've been friends for many, many years. I’ve watched Shane grow up I'm so proud of him.
“We didn't meet our expectations this year and South Carolina did, because a lot of people were talking about the struggles they were gonna have and they had some quarterbacks hurt. He beat Florida and he beat Auburn so I’m very proud of Shane and look forward to competing against him in this bowl game.”
*The Tar Heels have not met as a team since the Sunday after the NC State game. They are currently in finals, but things will heat back up this weekend as the Heels begin preparing for the Gamecocks.
“It is always a stressful time right after the season,” Brown said. “All of our coaches are out recruiting every day, so we don't even see the players this time of the year. We will get back for our banquet on Friday night, our senior banquet, and then that will be the first time our team meets together since last Sunday… Then we'll have our first bowl practice on Saturday.”
*The plan in getting ready for the bowl game is to practice hard between Saturday and two days before Christmas.
“We will practice up until the 23rd of December and the guys will go home after the morning of the 23rd practice,” Carolina’s coach said. “They will be home for a day and half for Christmas, and we will actually go to Charlotte for dinner on Christmas night.
“So the guys will get to be at home for Christmas, which is always fun for them, and then they'll get to go start the postseason holidays as such as they get to the ball game midnight and then we will practice on the next Sunday.”
*As of now, all available and healthy Tar Heels will play in the bowl game. And, as of Wednesday morning, no new players had indicated to the staff their intentions to enter the transfer portal. So instead of what transpired a year ago when four players opted out, the Heels will head into bowl prep with a great deal of stability and not needing to reshuffle anything.
“None of the players have talked to me about not playing at this point,” Brown said. “Obviously, we had one pull-out really late last year so it could still happen. But as of right now, we met with them on Sunday. All the coaches have asked the guys about who's playing and who's not, the guys have asked about who might transfer and who might not because the transfer portal is gotten to be a crazy part of college football.
“I think there are nearly 800 young people that have gone into the portal since November 1st. It's just absolutely amazing. Every day you have a buzz on your phone every time somebody goes in the portal it's just crazy what's happening now across the country and obviously has changed roster management, and roster management stuff more than ever before.
“The COVID year that everybody got back, you are not really sure what year somebody is, you have to look at the academic year than the years of eligibility they have left you're super seniors’ same way.”
*Even the Tar Heels with NFL intentions are planning on playing in the bowl game. But they continued accumulating information through UNC and otherwise.
“We have a couple of guys that are looking at the possibility of going to the NFL, but they're still being evaluated,” Brown said. “Coach (Darrell) Moody really helps us there to try to let them know exactly where we feel like they would be rated, so they can make a decision on whether they would go into the draft or not.
“I think they have to make that decision by January 17th, so they'll play in the bowl game and then meet with some agents, and meet with different people and get an evaluation from us. Our jobs to give them information their jobs to make the decision they want to do moving forward.”
