8/3/2023 football Edit

THI TV: Morales on Maye Being Even Better, TE Room is Tops, Fights & More

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its second practice of fall camp Thursday morning, and afterward, veteran tight end Kamari Morales fielded questions from assembled media at the Koman Practice Complex.

Last season, Morales caught 29 passes for 358 yards with four touchdowns, and in his career, the Florida native has 56 catches for 603 yards and 10 scores.

Above is the video of Morales’ Q&A session, and below are some notes and tidbits of what he discussed:

*On the enormous difference a year makes, Morales said, “last year we had a lot of unknowns. I think people failed to realize we didn’t even know who our starting quarterback was going to be at this point. Now, we know who our starting quarterback is, and he’s the best in America…

“Everybody’s come out here to compete. We’ve got some new faces both on offense and defense, and I think they’ve all adapted to the new culture in the program. We’ve set a standard for ourselves, and we’re going to compete every day.”

*Morales was quite positive today about a lot of things, notably Drake Maye. He even acknowledged he would be president of the Maye For Heisman committee.

“It’s honestly a privilege to watch him work,” Morales said. “I think he’s about to take college football by storm. With that being said, everybody knows who he is, but y’all really don’t know who he is, you know what I’m saying? He’s got a lot left in the tank, and he’s about to show that this season.”

*Morales also said UNC’s tight end group is the “best in the nation,” the Tar Heels will use two and three tight ends on the field a lot, and they can run “downhill” or run numerous routes off the same looks.

In addition, some fights broke out during practice Thursday, but that is actually a good thing, Morales said. Morales spoke about when he first saw Tez Walker working on his craft, as well as the emphasis on running the ball with authority more than a year ago, and so much more.

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