Five Questions With Coach Scott

By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com

1. Now that you have a season under your belt back at UNC, what's it been like for you as a former player to now coach the guys wearing the same Tar Heel uniform that you wore before them?
"It's a dream come true. I never would have thought this could happen to me if you asked me back then about my future. I wasn't actually recruited by UNC initially as I transferred in to play here. I loved my time here as a player. I was blessed enough to begin my coaching career here at UNC as a graduate assistant. Now, ten years later, I never saw or imagined this opportunity happening. Even now, I walk into this building every morning and it still feels like the first morning I walked in here. I love all of it. I love coaching players and making them better people here at my alma mater."

2. There's been a lot of buzz about the tight end group and how they performed in the spring. Where do you think they have made the biggest strides?
"I think their overall confidence improved quite a bit. I feel like on one hand, they had a better grasp of what we need them to do to make the offense better. Knowing what to do allowed them to just go out there and make plays. When the season started and Brandon Fritts went down with an injury we had to put in redshirt freshmen that had no playing experience. So there was an on-the-job learning curve happening for them that wasn't easy. Now, they have more knowledge and more experience and they could execute at a higher level this spring. Second, a few of the guys were finally healthy enough to do the things we knew they were capable of doing physically. Being healthy also gives them more confidence to be able to just go out there and make plays and trust their bodies. What the guys showed is that they're capable of making the right blocks, capable of running the right routes and then being capable of making the play when the ball comes their way."

3 The offense has to replace a lot of skill guys and production. How are your guys specifically thinking about and preparing to help fill that lost production this fall?
"They're going out every day and putting in the extra work it takes to be better than they were last year. That's not a knock on where they were last year but more about getting better every day in order to make a bigger impact on Saturdays. They were all committed to doing the little things to get better this spring. That meant doing extra drills and catching extra balls. Whatever it takes. All of them are focusing on what they have to do to be in position to make a play when their number is called. It starts in the meeting room and recognizing the concepts on film of what we're looking for and what we're trying to do as an offense. It continues by translating what they learn in the meeting room into great practices on the field. The opportunity is there this season for them to be a factor in the success of this offense. I think they know that and they're ready to take advantage of that opportunity."

4. That work seemed to pay off as many observers noted the increase in the amount of plays the tight ends were making this spring. Did you feel the same way?
"Yes, I did. But what I got excited about is the fact that it wasn't just one guy. We talk about that in our room every day. When our number is called, we have to step up and make the play. We say, 'Step up and step out. Step out and stick out. When we stick out then stay out.' It's about seizing the opportunity to make that play. To make that play you have to execute mentally and physically. So do what you have to do to be ready to do that. The more we do with the opportunities we get, the more opportunities we will get. I was happy to see that they took that approach to practice every day this spring. That's what will lead us into fall camp with a lot of potential as a group. We have to continue that into the summer and take advantage of every opportunity to get better."

5. How does your room or the makeup of your room look different now than it did the first day you came back to coach at UNC?
"It's the same room. The difference now is the look in their eyes. It's their confidence. Last year when we walked in here we only had one guy who I could say had the utmost confidence in what he was doing and how he was going to do it. Then he went down with an injury. The other guys at the time had more of a deer in the headlights look. Now, everybody has that confident look in their eyes. That look that tells me they're ready. They're hungry for their opportunity. With that confidence we're able to do more things across the board because I know they'll execute what's given to them. As a result, we have more quality depth in our room. Even though it's really the same guys I had last season, I feel like we're deeper now at the tight end position. Same room, same guys. Just a different approach to their business now."

Players Mentioned

Brandon Fritts

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