CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media following practice Wednesday via zoom to offer some updates on how preparation for Pittsburgh is going and field questions about his team.

Among the things Brown discussed were the buzz around campus this week, analytics, defensive lineman Kevin Hester, this team’s harmony and how that helps the coaching staff, and what makes Pitt a tough challenge.

The No. 21 Tar Heels host the Panthers on Saturday night for an 8 PM kickoff (ACC Network) looking to push their ACC record to 4-0. UNC is 6-1 overall. Pitt is 4-3 and 1-2.

Above is video of Brown’s Q&A session, and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:

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*The Tar Heels are coming off an open date and have not played since an October 15 win at Duke. Brown is pleased with the team’s prep for the Panthers.

“Practice has been good,” he said. “I’m really excited about the energy. As I get older and continue to do this, it seems to me the most important thing about your team, other than talent – you’ve gotta have some talent – is the team loves each other, and care about each other, and they play hard each week, and they practice hard every day. And that’s hard to get.”

*The game Saturday night is sold out, making it four sellouts in as many home games for the Tar Heels. Brown can feel excitement on campus as the game gets closer and Carolina’s winning season builds.

“A lot of buzz on campus this week,” Brown said. “It’s a sellout this weekend, it’s going to be fun. That’s what you want at the end of the season. Most everybody has that at the first of the season, but when it matters, you want to be involved with a team that’s played hard, and your fanbase appreciates, and they’re gonna come out and support.”

*Brown heaped all kinds of praise on Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi, whose team won the ACC championship last season.

“Pat’s done an amazing job there,” Brown said. “I love the way he coaches. They stop the run, they force you to beat them in the passing game, they get after the quarterback, and they run the ball and use a lot of play-action. And they’re really, really well coached in special teams.

“I admire Pat and how he coaches, and I admire how hard they play and how tough and physical they are. So, it will be a great challenge for us this weekend to see if we can match their intensity and toughness.”

*Brown has spoken about his use of analytics a lot the last couple of years, and he certainly looks at them with most things, but he doesn’t always do what the book says they should do. Some coaches go straight with the book now, some don’t use it at all. Brown is a bit in between, but in the end, it’s always his decision.

“I do think from a positive standpoint, analytics have helped us be more aggressive,” he said. “We’re not going to be crazy, but we’ve got to be more aggressive, and that is something that has helped our offense.”

Brown says it’s actually helped his defense, too. UNC ranks No. 39 nationally in fourth-down defense, which is a significant departure from most of its other defensive rankings. The sense of urgency the unit plays with on fourth downs is something the program works on, and with it having an aggressive mindset on offense, it has helped the defense.

“Defensively, people are going for fourth downs more, and we’ve had three really tight, tough goal line stops… It’s helped our defense play better goal line defense and play better fourth-down defense, because when you know people are going to go for it more, you’re gonna work on it more in practice.”

UNC’s opponents are 7-for-16 on fourth downs.

*Junior defensive lineman Kevin Hester’s role has increased significantly since Ray Vohasek went down with a season-ending injury. Hester’s career-high in snaps before the win at Miami a few weeks ago was 31 in last season’s overtime loss at Pitt. This fall, it was 28 snaps twice. But Hester played 36 snaps at Miami and 52 in the win at Duke.

The trust the staff has in him taking on a starting role is a huge development for a guy who played just one year in high school and was actually a basketball player. So, at what point was Hester no longer a basketball player trying to learn how to play football, and had become a full-fledged football player?

“I feel like it took a couple of years,” Brown said. “You could see the athletic ability, but he had to get stronger, and he had to learn to play with leverage. He was a basketball player, and it was our first year, and we took a total chance on him. I think he had committed to Tulane.

“But he was a big body that could really run and athletic, and he’s just gotten better and better and better. The thing about those big bodies normally, is it takes them longer to play than the skill guys, because you’re taking an 18-year-old and playing against a 22-year-old in many cases, and the strength differential makes the biggest difference.

“But there’s never been any question that he would be a really good player, and now he has stepped into that role of being a starter.”

*One of the things that has become quite apparent with this team is its connection together. The defensive players went through their players-only meeting the day after the Notre Dame game and cleaned up some stuff. But Brown said in August this team was different in that respect than last year’s club, and related that fact to how the 2021 team just didn’t handle adversity well, nor did it handle the slightest prosperity well. It’s vastly different now.

Brown is confident he can push the right buttons with this team because they will respond accordingly at all times. It doesn’t mean they always perform, but they approach every situation with the clearest possible minds and readiness to excel.

“This team, I feel like, has total trust in us, and they know we’re trying to help them do what they need to do to win,” the coach said. “They know we’re turned the team over to them, by and large, on the field, and they’re actually coaching guys.

“One guy didn’t run on the field when a coach called him out yesterday, and they were all over him. ‘C’mon, man, pick it up. Get out there, you need to have a better attitude.’ And that hasn’t happened here in the previous three years.

“So, this team is fun, they’re special, they practice hard every day… They’re great young people.”