CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its twelfth practice of fall camp Wednesday, and afterward, senior offensive lineman William Barnes met with the media to discuss moving over to left tackle, Diego Pounds’ emergence on the o-line, how the unit is different under Randy Clements, and more.
Above is video of Barnes’ Q&A session, and below are some tid bits from what he had to say:
*Randy Clements replaced Jack Bicknell last winter as UNC’s offensive line coach. And a big part of the mission was to improve the unit’s physicality, but to achieve that, the unit had to get better at attaining and maintaining balance. That allows offensive linemen to hold their blocks longer or remain capable of engaging with a defender.
*Clements is known for producing o-lines that grind, that can handle staying on the field for fast tempo offenses, and that work exceptionally hard at their craft. It’s a culture he built for a decade at Baylor, and is trying to do now at UNC.
“I feel like all of our work ethic on the o-line has definitely improved over the spring and leading up to the starting of the season.”
*Sophomore Diego Pounds has gotten plenty of praise from UNC Coach Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey of late, and is even getting some regular reps with the Blue team. Barnes, who occasionally moves to right guard when Pounds replaces him at left tackle, also spoke positively of the Raleigh native.
“He’s definitely brought himself to our higher level and definitely to a higher standard. So with Diego, he’s definitely getting better and definitely getting the reps he deserves, so coach feels comfortable moving him up to left tackle and moving me to right guard.”
*Barnes says the transition to mostly playing left tackle hasn’t been entirely smooth, though he’s coming along.
“It’s been definitely challenging moving from right guard to left tackle, but with coach (Clements) helping me out with everything I need to do in terms of staying square and making sure that my feet and alignment are straight. Left tackle can be difficult, but… I’m starting to get a lot better at that; starting to feel like I’m home now.”
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