Five With Fedora: Spring Recap
June 12, 2017 | Football
by Jeff Greenberg
1.) What do you enjoy the most about spring practice? – “That tends to be different each spring depending on the circumstances surrounding the program at that moment. Last spring was different than this spring because we had so many familiar faces at the top of the depth chart. We have that on the defensive side of the ball this year, but on offense we're replacing a lot of guys that were here a long time and did a great job for us. This spring I really enjoyed watching the new guys step up to that challenge and work to develop themselves and make this team better. Those young guys that haven't had the experience or the reps on Saturdays came into this spring ready to work. These are the guys we recruited that we felt strongly about in terms of their ability to help this team. This was really their first chance to compete for those starting positions. It's also a chance for us as coaches to see how these guys are developing within our program. That's a crucial element to every spring in order to keep elevating the level at which we play at on Saturdays. I enjoy it every year, but the type of enjoyment was different this spring. As a coach you love watching guys working hard to show the coaches why we recruited them. The battles for starting positions were intense and that intensity will carry over to fall camp as they continue to compete. You can't ask for anything else as a coach when you know your guys are working hard and competing every day.”
2.) A key position in your offense, of course, is quarterback. You had guys competing this spring to take over the spot that Mitch Trubisky left. In what areas did the quarterbacks improve? – “I feel like from beginning to end they got better in every area. But that “end” is not where they need to be yet to say they're ready to go in week one. They still have a long way to go to fully grasp the offense when their number is called and do all the things we want to do on that side of the ball. The biggest area they all improved on was their comfort level and confidence. That also showed in how they got better with their tempo, which usually does go hand-in-hand with their comfort level. The more comfort and confidence you have, the faster you can play. The improvement in their comfort level also led to better decision-making as the spring went on, which is always an important factor in running our offense. In terms of mechanics, I think Coach Heckendorf did a great job with pushing each of them to improve their accuracy and it showed as we moved further into the spring. I was pleased with their progress. People have to remember that as good as Mitch was this season, he was in the same position these guys were at this stage of his development. Everybody goes through it and nobody gets to skip ahead without putting in the work.”
3.) One of the new faces on the offense will be graduate transfer quarterback Brandon Harris. What are you expecting him to bring to that quarterback room when he arrives? – “First and foremost, he will bring a level of maturity and experience that can't be taught. It can only be gained over time. He's played in some big time games on a national stage and that's something that can't be recreated in practice with the young guys. We like the athleticism that he shows in his game and that can help us do certain things in the offense. It will be interesting to see how he adds to the dynamic in the quarterback room. Any time you add a new face or a new perspective into a room like that I think it's a chance for everybody to learn from each other and Coach Heckendorf will know how to get the most out of that dynamic. Bottom line is we wouldn't have brought him in here if we didn't think the situation would make us a better team.”
4.) The defensive side of the ball returns a lot of experience compared to the offense. Where do you think they made the biggest strides forward this spring? – “First of all, they were very comfortable within the framework of our defense and what we want from our scheme. This is the third year now for most of them in this defense so their knowledge level has increased each season. J.P. (John Papuchis) and his staff were able to add more to the defense because of that knowledge. They were able to expand beyond the base defense because guys could grow and absorb the information faster this spring. One thing to remember is that even though we have a lot of experience returning on that side of the ball, we came into the spring, and will head into fall camp, with a lot of competition at certain spots to be the starter. One aspect I was really observing more so this spring was more on the coaching side than the player side. We brought in three new coaches on defense and you're always curious to see how that transition goes when practice starts. I was happy with the seamless transition in that regard. I think the players on defense are a mature group which helped. I also think J.P.'s leadership and familiarity with the guys we hired made everything run smoothly. The defense had a great spring.”
5.) As the head coach, what specific areas are you focusing on as you head into the summer and then on into fall camp? – “I've got some things that I'll be focused on, but we also take the time to evaluate the entire spring before we move onto planning the specifics of fall camp. We look at every practice and what each player did and how they progressed during the spring. Once we do that then we can start setting up specific objectives for each position heading into the beginning phase of fall camp. I say beginning, because when we start fall camp we are still working on us and improving what our guys can do as we prepare for the whole season. We're trying to start to figure out which guys are emerging from those position battles and solidify our depth chart. As we move the second half of fall camp we will be preparing for Cal. In terms of what I'm thinking about now, I think it comes down to protecting the ball on offense. With a lot of new guys stepping into the mix, decision-making by the quarterback will dictate most of that, but we also need our new skill position guys to hold onto the ball. When the lights come on and it's live action now on Saturdays, those new guys can't lose track of the fundamentals. On defense it's about creating turnovers. We emphasized that a ton in camp and trying to change that dynamic in comparison to how last season played out. You win a lot of games when you can get the other team to turn the ball over.”
6.) Extra point: The University just approved your new contract, construction has started on new practice facilities and the program just experienced one of its best NFL Drafts in recent memory. You're also one of top 40 (out of 130) longest tenured coaches in college football now. What do you think about what you have going on within the program at this point? – “With regards to the coaching side of that question, that's amazing to think about considering I've only been here five seasons. That just tells you how volatile this profession is at this time. Winning is hard and it gets harder every season. I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish here up to this point under the circumstances. I'm excited about the future because I think our future is bright. I couldn't be happier to know that our chancellor, our athletic director and our administration also share that opinion, and would like to have us around here longer. I'd love to be here for a long, long time. There are goals I set since day one here at UNC. We haven't reached all of those goals yet and so that's the mission. We want to continue to grow the program every day and accomplish those goals.”
