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CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday evenings at the Kenan Football Center means some of North Carolina’s football players are made available to the media, and the offensive Tar Heels this week were Antoine Green, Asim Richards, and Drake Maye.

They fielded questions about what was learned from the loss to Notre Dame, their personal development this season, position groups, and to look ahead to UNC’s game Saturday at home versus Virginia Tech.

Below are videos of their interviews along with a few notes, pulled quotes, and time markings from what they had to say:

Green injured his shoulder a week into fall camp in early August and missed UNC’s first three games, but he returned for the Notre Dame game and posted solid numbers: three receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets.

*1-min mark: Green was flagged for a celebration penalty for spinning the ball after his second touchdown, which occurred late in the fourth quarter. So, is spinning the ball one of his treasured skills?

“Honestly, I didn’t even intentionally do it,” he said. “But the thought crossed my mind, and I just flipped the ball behind me.”

*1-min mark: Green played 29 snaps and was hit quite a few times, but he felt pretty good Sunday after taking his first real licks in a while and with the grind of playing a game.

“I’m pretty good condition-wise,” he said. “Last week at practice, I was working my butt off just to get my wind back right before the game. I feel pretty good.”

*1-min mark: Green said he started practicing full speed a week before the game.

*2-min mark: Since Green hadn’t spoken to the media since the injury, he was asked some background on how it happened. It was in thud in practice and he was surprised the injury was a severe as it was, “because I was lying on the ground and didn’t really feel it at first. Then I tried lifting my arm up, and that’s when I felt it.”

2-Min mark: Green was asked about Drake Maye and if anything he’s seen from the QB has surprised hm so far.

*3-min mark: Back to the injury, it was tough for Green to process at first because he had been through it before with a gruesome leg injury in 2018. But as a senior, assuming he doesn’t use a COVID year, and one of the primary receivers, it wasn’t easy for Green, but he called on his faith and experience with the injury four years ago to get him through.

*3-min mark: Was there a “Why me” moment with Green?

“Yes, of course when it first happened,” he said. “Of course, I questioned, it crossed my mind. But it’s like I’d rather it be me than anybody else. I know I can deal with it, so it wasn’t really much of a challenge for me because I knew I was going to be back.”

*4-min mark: Green discussed what he brings to the offense.

*5-min mark: Green said he struggled at first getting into a groove Saturday, noting two drops, but eventually found it. The long TD was a bit of a release, too.

*6-min mark: Green was asked again what he brings to the WR room.

*6-min mark: Green offered his thoughts on looking forward to getting back on the field with Maye and hooking up with him on some big plays.

*1-min mark: Running on early downs, notably first down, was an important topic in Monday’s pressers with UNC Coach Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Phil Longo. The Tar Heels have three yards or less on 64 of their 112 running plays on first and second downs so far. Richards says it’s a matter of execution and being more physical up front to improve those numbers.

“We have to really come together as a whole offense, block the way we’re supposed to block, execute, and then so we can make those holes for our special backs,” Richards said. “And I want to see them succeed so much. I want them to be able to get loose… Once we get the execution down, we’ll be just fine. They can run all over the place.”

*2-min mark: The points of emphasis in practice Tuesday were?

“Being more physical,” Richards said. He emphasized that a few times Tuesday. Being more aggressive, too.

*2-min mark: Richards discussed his performance so far. His season grade is 66.5, including 70.9 versus Georgia State.

*2-min mark: UNC has allowed nine sacks in four games, and this time a year ago that number was 17 through four games. Brown noted the improvement Monday, and Richards spoke about it Tuesday.

“A year ago, we had a mentality to set back and have these pass rushers hit their moves on us and we have to react to them,” Richards explained. “(Offensive line) Coach (Jack) Bicknell came in and told us we don’t have to do that, we can be more aggressive. It’s a weird saying, ‘Pass isn’t so passive,’ so we can actually go up and attack the defender and dictate where they go instead of them dictating to us where they go.”

Richards said he could really see the difference in fall camp, and it’s played out through the first three games so far.

*3-min mark: Longo said Monday they are going to pare down the running backs rotation, which is currently at four. Richards was asked how that might help the run game.

*4-min mark: He was asked what people take for granted with Drake Maye.

*5-min mark: How can the o-line get more physical during the season?

*5-min mark: Does better fundamentals help increase physicality?

*6-min mark: Richards was asked some questions about Spencer Rolland.

*8-min mark: Can going into ACC play be a bit of a fresh start for the Tar Heels?

“I look at it as a fresh start, but let’s not forget what we’ve done…” Richards said, saying they need to take positives to build on and negatives to learn from moving forward.

*1-min mark: Maye discussed what it was like having Antoine Green back in the lineup.

“AG is a great player,” Maye said. “He’s made big plays here for years now, and towards the end of last season he made some big plays. (He’s) a deep ball threat, good route runner, he’s got a lot of experience of just making plays.”

*2-min mark: Maye is four games into his career as a starter, is there something he learned last season that is helping him this season? Interesting answer, but Maye said he learned watching Sam Howell quickly move on to the next game has helped him a lot this year.

*3-min mark: Maye was asked a follow up question about that.

*3-min mark: Maye has two fumbles so far, one at App State and the other versus Notre Dame. Brown said Monday that QBs don’t get hit in practice so they sometimes have issues with ball security. How does Maye work on that during the season?

“It starts with practice, you practice how you play,” Maye said. “Just keep two hands on the ball in the pocket. I’ve gotten a little carried away holding it with one hand. That play (versus Notre Dame) was a big play, it changed the game…

“Coach Longo is emphasizing it. It’s hurting the team, so I’ve gotta be better and keep two hands on the ball, and I think it’s always something in the back of your mind going through practice now.”

*4-min mark: Maye was asked if he and Sam had conversations about how to do things when he was in this role.

*5-min mark: Longo went into detail Monday about his communication with Brown about going for it on fourth down, and how he often knows after first down if they will go for it if necessary. Maye was asked a few questions about this, but an interesting part of his responses was about how he’s learning Brown’s and Longo’s tendencies about when they will go for it, ad that helps him on second and third-down plays.

“Anytime we get outside our own 40, especially when you cross the 50, they’re more likely to go for it on fourth-and-short,” Maye said. “Just keeping that in the back of my mind and taking what the defense gives us, and not necessarily get it all back with one down.”

*7-min mark: How can shortening the RB rotation help the ground game?

*8-min mark: Does Maye self-scout during the course of the game, knowing immediately what he did wrong with his feet or a throw?

*10-mim mark: Is Maye ahead of where he thought he’d be through four games?

*10-min mark: What has he learned about himself as the QB at UNC so far?

*11-min mark: Media and fans look at TD passes and maybe yards, but what stat does he look at most? Note, he is tied for the national lead with 16 TDs, and he has just one interception.