CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center to discuss what was learned watching film from his team’s loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday, and to look ahead to NC State.
In addition, Brown discussed some areas of concern regarding pass protection, red zone offense, his team’s physicality and more.
The No. 18 Tar Heels host NC State on Friday afternoon to close out the regular season. Carolina is coming off a 21-17 loss to Georgia Tech, and will enter the game versus the Wolfpack at 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the ACC.
State is 7-4 and 3-4.
The game kicks off at 3:30 and will air on ABC.
Above is the video from Brown’s presser, and below are a few notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
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*UNC announced right before Brown began his presser that tight end John Copenhaver and wide receiver Antoine Green are practicing this week and will play versus NC State on Friday. Both players missed the Georgia Tech game.
*Brown said that junior cornerback Storm Duck played his best game as a Tar Heel in the loss to GT. Duck had four tackles, and interception, a forced fumble, a PBU, and a forced incompletion on the night. He was also targeted in coverage four times while allowing one reception for just three yards. Duck graded out an outstanding 88.7.
“Storm Duck played his best game since he’s been here with the interception, and he had another strip on the field that we didn’t get on,” Brown said.
*Carolina’s coach also noted quality defensive performances by Kaimon Rucker, (Jahvaree) Ritzie, Myles Murphy, (Kevin) Hester, Ced Gray, and Power Echols “all played really well.”
Brown also noted: “Defensive, we did have some guys play well, and we had five stops to start the game and did a lot of good things,” Carolina’s coach said.
*The Tar Heels managed only 108 yards and six downs while not scoring in the second half versus the Jackets. Brown laid it out there about the unit’s performance.
“Offensively, we were very uncharacteristic,” he said. “We had an interception, we had a stop on fourth down, we had drops. We just didn’t play well at all. Very, very disappointing.”
*Brown said only three offensive players had good games.
“Offensively we didn’t (play well), we had three guys that played well,” he said. “And that’s Ed Montilus played his best game, and then the two tight ends that played; Kamari Morales and Bryson Nesbit.”
Mack says only 3 offensive players played well: Nesbit, Morales and Montilus.
*Interesting, and Brown said this after the game Saturday night, but he says scoring on big on a first offensive play of the game can be a negative. He repeated it Monday. Here he explains:
“It’s always been a negative for me when we score on the first play of the game offensively,” Brown said. “Because you just played (a) rival in Wake, you’re playing your rival the next week in State, and it just looks like it’s going to be too easy.”
*With the State game being Friday, it’s a short week for the Tar Heels so they switched up the practice schedule. The players got Sunday off instead of Monday, and then treated Monday like a normal Tuesday and so on.
“Today (Monday) is a Tuesday practice; tomorrow will be a Wednesday practice,” Brown said. “You gotta get rid of one and get to the next one, win or lose, because you can’t let one game beat you twice.”
*Rivalry games are great for players, but Brown says they exist because of the fans, especially in-state rivalries.
“They work together; they go to church together; they see each other at the grocery store; and they pick on each other all the time,” he said. “We've got three of them here that are really important to this university when you got Wake, Duke, and State. All those games are very, very important.
“A lot of our people spend time with Virginia and Virginia Tech, so there are really five of us here.”
*The Wolfpack is ranked No. 21 nationally in total defense, No. 9 in rushing defense, No. 15 in pass efficiency defense, and No. 15 in scoring defense. This will be a significant test for the UNC offense.
“They played great defense, not good defense,” Brown said. “They are 21st in total defense in the country, only giving up 323 yards per game, they are 15th in scoring defense, only giving up 18.7 points per game, they are 9th in rushing defense, giving up 100 yards basically, and they are 18th in third-down defense, only letting people get third downs on 31 percent of the time.”
*Brown had plenty of praise for State’s linebacker trio of Payton Wilson, Drake Thomas, and Isaiah Moore is the best in the nation. And he may not be wrong. This is an outstanding group, though Wilson missed State’s loss at Louisville this past weekend.
Note that Moore’s season grade is 83.4 and Thomas’ is 80.2.
“Drake Thomas, Isaiah Moore, and Payton Wilson are three of the best linebackers in the country. In fact, on a team of three, the three best,” UNC’s coach said. “Their front is really strong and tough. I have been really, really impressed with the way they played defense throughout the year.”
*The controversial holding penalty on Bryson Nesbit that brought back Elijah Green’s 68-yard TD run was discussed Monday morning. Brown was asked multiple questions about it.
“I really feel like in college football, and I've said this a thousand times, on a call like that, that changes the game, we need to go upstairs,” Brown said, noting he wants those flags reviewed. “Let the guy call down and say, ‘no, he ran over him, you saw him late, you didn't see it.’ We were at the 35-yard-line. I didn't see it because I always check to see if it's a touchdown, then a late flag comes out.
“I think you turn around and see something late; you're not sure what happened, his backside had anything to do with the play. In fact, we been in mad with Bryson for not being a better position and not being more physical because he got ran over.”
*In 34 years as a head coach and many more in the business, Brown says he hasn’t seen a player get a holding call when pancaked by a defensive player.
“No, (but) we had (a holding) last year against Wake Forest; they dove at our center, dove right at his knees,” he recalled. “Our center put his hands on top of him from stopping him from hurting his knees, and they called it holding. That one was very close to this one.”
*Josh Downs is as reliable a receiver as there is in college football, which is why his dropped touchdown pass that could have given UNC a win Saturday night was so perplexing to so many people. But Downs’ teammates have done a nice job supporting him since the miscue and that nobody is perfect.
“These are great young people,” Brown said. “Again, we wouldn't have won nine games and won the Coastal without Josh. He has made play after play after play, and he's made unbelievably good catches. They are human beings; they are not video games. When someone makes a mistake, I make them every day and try to fix them. That's what we do.
“Head coaches after the game have a very strange routine. I go in, I see them, and I say to them about what I said to you. ‘Give Georgia Tech credit. It's disappointing because we didn't play good enough; they made one more play than we did. We've got to figure out why and do a better job next week. Take care of yourself tonight, I won't see you at all tomorrow; eat, sleep, and think about NC State. Then I will come and see you all.’”
