Five With Fedora: Oct. 2

By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com

1. Every season is unique. Last season you had the first quarterback selected in the NFL Draft starting for your team. This season you're starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback. How would you evaluate the performance and development of Chazz Surratt at this moment?
"I think Chazz has stepped into this role and developed more and more each time he steps onto the field. It started in the spring and he really took some good steps forward in the fall to become our starter. Once the season began he was playing in his first live snaps in college football. I think he's handled that part of it well. He has shown a lot of poise and kept his wits about him. Now, has he made some mistakes? Sure, but what freshman quarterback doesn't make mistakes? The key thing about Chazz is that he can understand what he did in those situations and learn from it. For instance, the interception he threw this week was not a good decision. There wasn't really anywhere for him to go with the ball based on the coverage we got on the play. So that's a situation where he should have run or thrown it away, but he was trying to make a play. But the vast majority of what we saw on film was him making good decisions. It's been that way every week. In terms of what Chazz does specifically in his role, at his position, he's making progress in different areas. He's been hit with a lot of unique challenges and adversity and I think he's handled it well. What I like about Chazz is that he's getting better every week because he's learning more every week with each experience."

2. Staying with that theme of development, your running backs are also new this year, having come into the season with minimal to no live game experience. What have you seen from the running backs as they get more game reps?
"What I see is them getting better each time out. Both of them have shown the ability to make things happen and both of them are running hard and protecting the ball. I think Jordon has really stepped up in the last few weeks and he's running very aggressive and hard when his number is called. He's been more physical in everything he does on the field which is key at this position. Our running backs need to be physical and fast when they run; but they also need to be physical in pass protection. I like what Jordon is showing in all of those areas. Mike is also doing some good things for us as well and continuing to grow. Both these guys, like Chazz, are young guys. Both of them have played in five games this season and, outside of limited carries last season for Jordon, those are the only five college games they've ever played in. So in the context of that and some of the challenges we've had in the running game, I think we're seeing the things we need to see from them and are excited about what the future holds with both of those guys."

3. What goes into developing the offensive game plan from week to week as you face different opponents and challenges?
"First and foremost you have the opponent that week that you have to analyze and scout the things they prefer to do on defense. What's their base package look like? What variations do they run off of that package? What does their personnel look like in those different looks? In that analysis you'll also want to see how they approached other teams with similar offensive sets and principles as your offense. You've done a good amount of scouting in the offseason as well, so you need to figure out how what you saw on film then matches up to what they've done so far this season. Then it's all about creating a plan that fits your guys best and puts them in a position to succeed. You evaluate what your guys are doing well at the moment and come up with ways to duplicate that success. People ask about how your personnel affects your game plan; every team's personnel factors into their game plan. Every team is aiming to emphasize their players' strengths and give them a game plan that they can execute with success. We're no different in that regard. We work to create a game plan that does that for our players. That's our goal every week."

4. Switching over to the other side of the ball, which guys on the defense this week looked good on film?
"We had a lot of guys that played hard and made plays this week. Cayson Collins made a ton of plays for us. He played well and in watching the tape he was all over the field for us. I think he had around twelve tackles. Most, if not all were solo tackles and also a sack in there. He's a kid that has really made huge strides forward for our defense this season. So he will be big for us the rest of the way too. Up the middle I think Aaron Crawford had a good day for us. Again, another guy that is coming into his own this season and becoming a major factor for us inside. I think some of our younger guys up front are getting more comfortable in knowing what they have to do to compete at this level. So you can see them starting to make more plays because their confidence is growing with that knowledge. I think overall we had more different guys making plays for us this week and we need more of that as we move forward."

5. This team has faced a ton of adversity this season and it's only week six. How do you lead the staff and coach the players on the mental side of this challenge, beyond the X's and O's?
"Well, with the staff it's more about encouraging them to find ways to keep trying to put these kids in a position to be successful. But it's not just about saying it; it's about getting in there and doing it with them. It's about staying positive in everything that we do and it starts with the coaches. That doesn't mean that you don't coach hard when you need to. You can remain positive and still coach hard to help these guys do things better and execute better. With the players it's about coming together and deciding where we want to go from here. What kind of team do we want to be from this point on? When you do that then it's time to make that adjustment mentally and focus on what you have to do every day to be that team. It's not the physical part of the game or how we practice. One thing that has been very consistent with this team is their ability and will power to come back each and every Sunday with the work ethic and energy needed to get better. At this point it's about making an adjustment mentally, and an attitude adjustment that we're going to get over this hump and we, coaches and players, are going to do whatever it takes to do that."

Players Mentioned

Cayson Collins

Aaron Crawford

Chazz Surratt

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