University of North Carolina Athletics
One-on-One With Errol Hood
August 18, 2000 | Football
Aug. 18, 2000
Earlier this week, TarHeelBlue asked all interested Carolina fans to submit questions for UNC's all-star junior cornerback Errol Hood. You've emailed in your questions, and now here is what he had to say.
Question from Terry Wimmer in Morgantown, W. Va.: You had a strong season last year. What have you done to take your game up a notch?
Errol Hood: I worked real hard over the summer and encouraged the younger fellas to work hard over the summer. That's how I get better, by helping them and doing extra drills and getting that dominant felling in my heart that I had at the end of last season.
Question from Clyde Baber in Linden, N.C.: What's the biggest difference you see in this year's defense as opposed to last year's ? Thanks for your time and have a great year!
EH: I think the biggest difference is that everyone is healthy. We have more pride and confidence this year, and our depth and experience will be a huge help to us.
Question from Jeff Warren: As a defensive back are you and Rabbit going to be able to lock up opposing receivers so the line and backers can focus on the run? Thanks, and good luck this year:
EH: I think Rabbit and I can make a great tandem. And we have so many good backups, that I don't think it will just be Rabbit and me. We're very deep this year -- we've got Kevin Knight, David Scott, Derrick Johnson, Anthony Anderson -- I just think we have such a deep secondary that we're going to do our part this year to get our defense back to where it was for the last few years before 1999.
Question from Jason in Winston-Salem: Last year's defense was extremely talented but always seemed to be on the field too long and wore down towards the end of the game. What do you do to get and stay in prime football shape? Thanks for you time!!
EH: I always do something extra after practice. Some days it's running, some days its drills. I prepare myself to play that 80-85 snap game just in case. We had games like that last year, and I still had the same energy I had in the first quarter because I prepared earlier in the week and throughout the summer to be in the best shape I could possibly be in.
Question from Gary in Carrboro, N.C.: What has impressed you so far about Michael Waddell? What should fans expect to see from him?
EH: I think Michael has a lot of speed and talent. I know people have real high expectations for him, but I think he'll be able to rise to the occasion. It makes me feel confident to know that I can lock down my man and know he'll be locking down his man just as well.
Question from Sarah in San Francisco, Calif.: Last year's Georgia Tech game really seemed like your coming out party. Did that game give you the confidence to have such a great season last year?
EH: That game wasn't really my coming out in my mind. The game that made the difference for me was against Florida State when I got burned for a big touchdown. It made me so mad to get burned the way I did in front of 60,000 people and all the people watching at home. It motivated me to become a better player. But the Georgia Tech game did show me that I could play against the big-time receivers. That game gave me the confidence to know that `You can't dominate me, you can't do anything against me because I locked down (Georgia Tech's) Dez White and Kelly Campbell.'
Question from Jason Lucas: Which receiver in the ACC are you most anxious to go up against? How are the defensive backs coming along in practice?
EH: Bell from Florida State is the one who burned me on the touchdown route last year, so I'm very anxious to get up against him. It's just like in 1998 when Dez White burned me when we were playing Georgia Tech and I trained the whole summer for him. That's what I've been doing this year. I use the receiver who did well on me for motivation and fuel.
Question from Phillip Hall in Thomasville, N.C.: How did you feel that Thursday night in Charlotte last November when you saw that you stopped NCState from scoring what would have been a " DOOMSDAY " touchdown?
EH: I felt so good. All my life I wanted to make a great play, and it just made me feel really good riding home on the bus knowing that we had come out of our drought. We were 1-8 and I just felt really good knowing we were riding home with a win. I cramped up after that, but those were good feeling cramps.
Question from Kelly Hatchell in Inverness, Fla.: What do you most like about being a cornerback? If you could play any other position what would it be?
EH: I love the aggressive style we play. People really notice the cornerbacks because you're out there on an island all by yourself, and if you're good, people are going to notice that and see your ability. I like that. If I could play anything else it would be running back. In high school I was a quarterback, and sometimes I get that vision and want to touch the ball. When I scored my touchdown last year against Duke, I loved that.
Question from Michael in Cincinnati, Ohio: Have you done anything differently this preseason to prepare for the season? And, with having to go up against the offense every day in practice, what has most impressed you about Carolina's new schemes and new system under Mike O'Cain?
EH: I've been working with the receivers a lot just trying to get my game tight. I know there are a lot of expectations this year for me to do well, so I want to prepare myself so that coming into the season I will be at my best and right where I left off last year. I've had myself doing drills in the hot sun all summer, just so I'll be ready when the first game comes.
I see more confidence in our offense. Coach O'Cain has the offense really going. They run with pride and confidence like they know they're going to dominate. I'm very anxious to see what the offense is going to do this year.
Question from Marc in Charlotte, N.C.: What did you feel the defense did differently last year in the final few games of the season to really turn things around? How has that helped the team this year in getting ready for a new season?
EH: What I saw was our defense just really buckling down and saying `We're tired of getting beat on.' We saw ourselves drop from the top 20 to out of the top 100. That's not Carolina defense. We just put our feet down and said, `We're tired of it.' It's too bad it was late in the season, but defensively we stepped it up and that's our motivation going into the season. We know we're good, but we know we can be great. It's hard work that's going to separate us from being a great team or a mediocre team. I think with hard work and the people we've got coming back that we'll be real good on defense.
Question from John Kelley in Woodbridge, Va.: Good luck this season. My question is: given the success of the defense in the last three games of the season, what are the returning players doing to help build on this success while avoiding getting overconfident or complacent? Again, good luck and Go Heels!!
EH: I think the returning players are doing a great job of helping the younger guys so we can be more successful and have more confidence in the backups coming in. We know we turned things around toward the end of last year, but we just need to keep building on that if we want to be successful this year.
Question from Paula Stewart in Lenoir, N.C.: How do you mentally prepare for a game and how do you feel running out of the tunnel on game day? We're pulling for you in Lenoir.
EH: I take some time to myself to get ready for games. I go in the weight room and take a few stabs at the bag and listen to my music to calm my nerves down. And I wrap my wrists a lot. And I think every time I run out of the tunnel I get such a rush and it's like a feeling I've never had before every time. I also want to say hi to my friends Paula and Michael Stewart in Lenoir.
