University of North Carolina Athletics
Ken Browning's Post-Spring Thoughts
June 20, 2000 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: First of all, how's Coach Case doing?
Coach Browning: "He's doing extremely well. He's walking about 30 minutes a day. He's got his appetite back, and he feels like he's getting stronger daily. I went up to Gibsonville to see him yesterday.
"He's coming down tomorrow (Wednesday) for a checkup and to visit the cardiac rehab unit. They'll tell him more about how fast he can go with his rehabilitation.
"I think he's doing well, and he thinks he's doing well, which is a really good sign."
TarHeelBlue: Do you think he'll be back full time when fall practice begins?
Coach Browning: "I think so. He's expecting to be back full time. Without him having had a checkup since he's been home, I think he'll feel better tomorrow about how he's doing, and he'll certainly have a better idea. He's looking forward to coming tomorrow, and he thinks he's doing real well."
TarHeelBlue: Now that we're through with spring practice, could you please give me a rundown of each defensive position?
Coach Browning: "Let's start with the inside guys, because I think that will be one of the keys. Obviously, if you're going to be good on defense, that's one of the biggest keys.
"When we were really good here, we had great inside players.
"I think Ryan Sims had an outstanding spring, and he's working hard this summer. I fully expect him to have an outstanding year.
"Anthony Perkins is about 265 pounds now, and he's such a hard worker that even though he's a little undersized, I think he's going to be a very good player. His knick name's "full tilt", and that's a name the players gave him, so they understand his intensity level, plus he's a great technician.
"Behind those guys, I think it's up for grabs. Eric Davis had a really good spring. He's probably up to 265, and he's very quick for that position, and he's strong. So even though he's not a big guy, I'm hoping that he can hold up and give us some quality snaps.
"Willie Quick needs to have a great summer. That's what I've told him, and I think he understands it's up to him to get stronger and in better condition. This will really be the first summer that he's had a whole summer to do that injury free.
"At the same time I've got the two red-shirt freshmen. Donti Coats had a spring where he improved a lot, but he still needs to have a great August. He needs to turn himself loose, he's got some talent.
"Darryl Grant improved in the spring. He has some natural pass rush ability. He's got to become a better run player.
"Then there's two kids coming in this fall whom I'm going to give every opportunity to play, just because they've got good size. We'll just see how much they can help us in August.
"We only had Julius Peppers three days in the spring, but he's working out with the team now. He's in excellent condition. Hopefully, he'll be able to get all of his strength back by the time we start in case he lost any of his weightlifting strength due to basketball.
"Now, obviously his basketball experience should help his speed, quickness and endurance level. I think that physically his basketball experience has been a good tradeoff.
"I think Malcolm Stewart had a good spring, but the biggest thing I'd like to see Malcolm do is develop more self confidence. He's a young, talented guy with good speed and explosive power, so I don't see any reason he can't be an outstanding player. I'm hoping he's going to feel like he thinks he can be as good a player as I think he can be. Sometimes I think he's better than he thinks he is.
"The other two ends, Ross McAllister and Joey Evans, both had solid springs. I hope both will have good summers. There was not a lot of difference between those two in the spring. Joey played the best he's played since he's been here, which he should as he's about to become a junior.
"Ross played quite a few quality snaps for us last year. I think both of those should be better than they were last year, and I'll say that about everybody up front.
"I think we've improved, and I think we'll continue to improve through August and into the season.
"As far as the linebacker position, the biggest plus is getting Brandon Spoon back. He got in about 25 snaps the last week in pretty much full-speed contact drills. The biggest plus there was the fact that now that he's done it, mentally he'll be ready to go in August without any second thoughts about am I ready to go. It was very important for him to get those snaps in.
"We worked Merceda Perry mostly outside, and Brandon mostly inside in the spring. randon is a very physical guy. Obviously by playing the middle he's got a better chance to make more plays on both sides of the field than if he's playing outside, where you're a little more limited to your half of the field. I'm hoping that can increase the number of plays he can be involved in, and it should.
TarHeelBlue: Does the middle linebacker need to be faster than the outside linebackers?
Coach Browning: "No, not necessarily. His first job is playing tackle to tackle. The linebackers have a lot to do with stopping the running game inside. I think a lot of fans think of it as more of a tackle thing, but right now defensive linemen are going to get double teamed in so many of today's zone and gap offensive schemes. You're not going to make many plays against double teams. You're trying to not get knocked back, and to enable linebackers to make some plays.
"I don't tell them that they're not going to make plays, but the offense dictates a little bit of that, based on how long they're going to stay on the double team. If our linebackers are attacking the way we want them to, then that will really help with stopping the inside running game. They need to attack downhill and be more physical than we were last year.
"That was one of our objectives this spring. I think we've accomplished some things there, but I don't think we've finished improving at that.
"I'll put Sedrick Hodge in that same category as a guy who's got very good physical tools in terms of size and speed combination. I think he can be a more physical player, and he made big strides in that direction towards the end of spring practice. I want him to be more physical and not rely so much on his athletic ability. Sometimes you've just got to out tough them.
"It's a pad level thing, it's a leverage thing, plus the ability to strike.
"Quincy Monk had a good spring. I was also very impressed with Robert Harris and David Thornton, both of whom were walk-ons. I really think they have a chance to help us win ball games. David is working hard, he's a fast, athletic guy. He scored a lot of points in our production points system in the spring. A lot of what he needs to learn to do is to learn to play at pad level."
TarHeelBlue: What exactly do you mean by playing at pad level?
Coach Browning: "The higher they play, the less physical they are. The lower they can play and strike, the more physical they're going to be. The tall linebackers have to bend to get under blockers, because if you're higher than the blocker, regardless of how strong you are, he's got the leverage on you. It's a matter of physics, pure and simple. The low man wins."
TarHeelBlue: What about the defensive backfield?
Coach Browning: "At the cornerback position, I think Errol Hood picked up right where he left off last season. I think he played outstanding football the last five games of the year. He's an accomplished technician with his hands. He's probably the best hands player we have right now.
"Michael Waddell has great speed and athleticism, can make plays, and will continue to get better with his hands. He's a better tackler and tougher than you would expect, for a guy who looks to be no bigger than he is.
"After the post-spring running program, Kevin Knight had the fastest 40-yard time of anybody on the whole football team. If we played tomorrow, he'd probably start as our nickel back. He had a very solid spring.
"David Scott had a good last week of practice. He's got some coverage skill, but he's got to become stronger and more physical.
"As for the two safeties, David Bomar had a very good spring. David is a good tackler and a big hitter. If there's an area in which you would like to see him improve, it's man-to-man coverage. We'll try to keep him out of that against wide outs as much as we can. We've got to keep him more involved with run situations, because that's where he excels. He does play tight ends well man-to-man, plus he's a smart zone player.
"We need his leadership and toughness on the field.
"Dexter Reid made a lot of progress at strong safety. We moved him from cornerback to strong safety. He's got the speed to be a good coverage guy. I think he'll be a good tackler and a tough guy, but he'll be a red-shirt freshman. We don't know how productive he will be, but we think he'll help us some this fall. We'll probably play him some in our nickel package.
"Billy-Dee Greenwood improved in his tackling. That's the biggest concern we had about him based on last year. We want him to be a more physical tackler, but more importantly, to not miss tackles.
"Probably the biggest plus for us was the progress DeFonte Coleman made after we moved him from receiver to safety. I was very impressed with him. I think he'll end up pushing for playing time once he learns more about the system. He's a very physical player and a great tackler, and he's obviously got great hands. He adds something to the defense in terms of his tackling ability.
"Billy-Dee adds a lot in terms of leadership and experience. He's the quarterback of the secondary. Brandon Spoon is our quarterback up front, and he's good at that. He's smart and a good leader.
"We are trying to develop a broader base of leadership than we had last year. We need more leaders than we had last year."
TarHeelBlue: What was your biggest surprise during spring practice?
Coach Browning: "DeFonte's move to the other side of the ball went extremely well. He is such a good tackler.
"I'd say the other surprise was how impressed I was with the backup linebackers. They got to play more early in the spring because Brandon was still out, plus Sedrick and Merceda had some days where they had to miss practice because of class, so those guys got a little more reps with the first unit than they normally would, and I thought they played really well. I also think that will give them the confidence to be excellent special teams players."
TarHeelBlue: How's the physical condition of your guys?
Coach Browning: "I think they've been very productive in their off-season conditioning program. I think our strength and conditioning level will be better than they were last season. I think they are more focused, plus they have a better attitude.
"So much of the game is mental, in terms of being able to focus. You need to have a level of conditioning so that when you're tired, you still can focus.
"I think it's important to them. I think all of them want to be better. They were all, just like the coaches, disappointed in how we finished last year. They want to get it right. I feel good about that part of things."
TarHeelBlue: Do you anticipate much change in the depth chart this August?
Coach Browning: "It will be wide open. I don't think it's fair to the guys for it not to be. Everyone of them wants the chance, if he's the better player, to get to play. The only fair way to coach is to try to play the best player.
"It's not always the best athlete. Sometimes it's the guy who just makes plays, one who out toughs someone who's better than him physically. It's a challenge for the coaches to play the most productive players, not just the guys who may look the best on paper. You want the guys who are going to play the hardest and make the fewest mistakes."
TarHeelBlue: Did anyone really stand out as a particularly fast learner this spring?
Coach Browning: "DeFonte was a really good learner. I do think just about all my guys improved during the spring.
"Another guy who I've failed to mention is Will Chapman at defensive end/defensive tackle. He's a playmaker and a tough guy. If he has a good summer of physical preparation, I think he can be a factor."
TarHeelBlue: Do you still plan on using roughly the same mix of 4-3 and 5-2 that you thought you would going into the spring?
Coach Browning: "We'll do whatever we have to do to try and stop the other team from running the football. Controlling the running game has got to be a top priority for us. We were last in the league at stopping the rush last year.
"It's a matter of not missing tackles, because when you give up big gains, it's usually a matter of missed tackles, missed assignments or lack of effort. Lack of effort can be either mental or physical. If you look at the tape from last year, most of the time it's the first two. It wasn't a lot of lack of effort.
"I fully expect our effort to be good. We've got to improve our execution."
TarHeelBlue: You said earlier you may play some true freshmen.
Coach Browning: "They'll have a chance if they're good enough to play. We've got two big guys inside, both over 285 pounds. Beyond that, we'll take a hard look at all of them. Some of them may help us more on special teams early on.
"We're not in a position where we'll save someone for red-shirting if he can help us win a football game. We've got to concentrate on winning the games.
"I've always felt that if a guy's good enough to help you, then let him play."
TarHeelBlue: How much of what you wanted to accomplish this spring did you actually accomplish?
Coach Browning: "I think we improved in our tackling. I think our attitude has improved in terms of being more physical. Are we where we want to be in either of those areas? No. But August will give us another chance to improve in those areas.
"I think you can improve more in August in some areas than you can in the spring, because you can build on what you started in the spring. They've got an understanding that was accomplished in the spring that they can take to a different level in August.
"It hurt that we didn't have Ronald Curry to go against at quarterback, because we probably didn't get the best test that we could get in some areas. Plus, the offense was learning a new system, so that slowed them down some.
"We also need to be more flexible in shifting from one defense to another during the course of play. We need to be more comfortable in doing that. We've got to learn to change gears more quickly from play to play this August."
