CHARLOTTE – In addition to their press conferences at the podium Thursday at the ACC Kickoff, North Carolina Coach Mack Brown and seniors Charlie Heck and Myles Dorn also fielded questions in a breakout room here at The Westin.

Here are videos of their sessions along with a few notes from what Brown and his two players had to say:

*Brown has taken over Power 5 programs twice before, UNC during his first tour in Chapel Hill, and Texas. But that was 21 years ago, so what’s the biggest challenge taking over a P5 program now?

Brown noted having the best program in the country (Clemson) in the same conference makes it a challenge, but he also said having players in the program that fit overall is paramount.

“They talk about the transfer portal, why do kids transfer? They didn’t like your place, they didn’t like your offense or defense, they didn’t fit. So I’ve told our coaches, ‘Lets get people that fit.’

“’Well, here’s this guy in Montana.’ I said, ‘He doesn’t know where we are. He’s a great player and wants to come (but) he’s got no clue. He can’t get here. And if you can’t get a map and drive from Chapel Hill to Winston-Salem to Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh you aren’t a fit. You need to have some fit and reason to like Chapel Hill.”

*Dabo Swinney played at Alabama for Gene Stallings and his position coach there was Woodrow McCorvey, whom Brown has known for three decades and remains very close with. In fact, he still occasionally calls on McCorvey for advice and is also good friends with Stallings.

So, after Swinney got the Clemson job full time, Stallings and McCorvey asked if Swinney and his staff could spend some time in Austin to visit with Brown, who obliged. Now Brown is close with Swinney.

“I don’t like Dabo Swinney, I love Dabo Swinney.”

*Brown has said many times since spring practice started that having three young quarterbacks (two redshirt and one true freshmen) means one is likely to eventually transfer. So, he was asked if that will play into how he makes a decision regarding who will be the starter in the opener versus South Carolina as well as once the Tar Heels get into the thick of the season.

“It does and it can’t,” he said. “The problem is they’re all so young and two of them got hurt last year during the games. So if you pick a young one that struggles or gets hurt and the other two leave, you’re without. And one of the things that was a problem for us at the end at Texas was that we had quarterback trouble because one transferred and one got hurt, and all of a sudden you look up if you had four now you have two.

“So, when you think you’ve got enough quarterbacks you (need to) get one more because they’re hard to keep. All three kids have done great, the room’s good, they’re all nice, they all like each other, they’re all talented. We’ve just got to figure it out and even early in the process.”

Dividing reps in practice once fall camp starts Aug. 2 will be a challenge for the staff, Brown said. Having two players battling would be an easy 50-50 split, but that won’t be the case with three competing.

*The Charlotte native was limited in spring practice early on, participating in a select few non-contact drills before he underwent surgery in April for a lower body injury. Dorn wasn’t cleared to play again until mid-June but is fully healthy and ready to go ahead of training camp, which begins on Aug. 2.

The senior safety spoke on the difficulties he faced learning a new defense from the sidelines during the spring:

“You can’t replace reps. So, that’s really it. And communicating with your team, knowing where they’re going to be like you get a feel for playing with them. You know it on the board, you know the calls, but playing with them and building chemistry is something you can’t create. You just have to go out there and play.”

*The fact that Dorn represented the team at the ACC Kickoff shows just how highly Mack Brown thinks of the senior safety. A four year starter, Dorn is expected to be one of the biggest leaders on this year’s team and he spoke on the challenges that come along with that responsibility:

“It’s something that I kind of naturally stepped into. When you get older, people start to look up to you. Just being able to do the right things all the time knowing that people are looking at you. Being able to tell people what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear.

“Because I’m pretty cool with everybody, I’m friends with everybody, so telling people what they need to hear is kind of tougher than what they want (to hear). So just being that person and just being real with everybody and to be authentic and true to myself.”

*Entering his final season at UNC, Dorn spoke on the legacy he hopes to carry with him when his career is over in Chapel Hill:

“I just want people to know that I gave my all honestly. That I put everything that I put into it and I just want that to show. I want people to know that I was the one to start the uphill battle that we’re facing right now. And we’re going to come out on top, definitely. Whether it’s this year or next year, we’re going to come out on top, but it started here. And I want to be apart of that.”

*Heck has strong family ties to football as his brother, Jon, played at UNC from 2013-2016 before joining the program as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2018. His father, Andy, played in the NFL for 11 seasons and is currently the offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The senior offensive tackle spoke on what it’s like to have immediate family so closely connected to football.

“What it feels like is I’ve been following in the footsteps of both my brother and my dad,” he said. “My dad had a successful career in the NFL, I have ambitions to go play in the NFL. Jon was a great player at the Tar Heels and now he’s apart of the strength staff so I’m working with him everyday and I get to hear his advice and bounce off him about his same experiences we’ve shared.”

*Since returning in November, Brown has opened the door for former players to visit the program more often and many have. Heck spoke on what those former players have told him about who Brown is as a person:

“What sticks out to me is everybody will tell you that he will have your back no matter what and they still talk to him today, 10 years later, 15 years later. He helped them get their first job out of football, stuff like that, and that’s what really sticks with you.”

*Getting used to a new staff comes with its own set of unique challenges and Heck discussed some of the difficulties that come along with getting to know a completely new set of coaches:

“There definitely is difficulties when you get a whole new staff. You’ve got whole new position coaches, you’ve got to adjust to their styles of coaching. But I think we have done a good job as an o-line specifically getting with (Stacy) Searles, he’s our o-line coach now, and he’s been awesome. But the challenges would be just getting used to a new coach.”