University of North Carolina Athletics
Transcript From Ryan Sims' Chat On ESPN.com
October 30, 2001 | Football
Oct. 30, 2001
On Tuesday evening, North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle, Ryan Sims, made a special visit to talk about Thursday's game against Georgia Tech.
Here is the transcript from the chat:
I am here and ready for your questions.
Bryan (Charlotte): Is it the defense or the offense that will have to step up the most to beat Georgia Tech?
Ryan Sims: (6:46 PM ET ) I feel it will have to be the defense. If they don't score they can win. That has been our motto all season.
Antoine Robinson (Charleston): I think that you're one of the most underrated players not only on your team, but in the nation. You constantly draw double-teams that allow guys like Julius Peppers to get free. Two questions, first, how are you handling all the talk of you becoming a potential first-round draft pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, and secondly what are you doing to make the transition from college to the pros easier?
Ryan Sims: (6:48 PM ET ) Personally, I just take it as a compliment. I know I have put in a lot of hard work to get to this point so I just have to keep working hard.
Right now I am not concentrating on the NFL because I have a lot of college football left. We are on the verge of winning the ACC, so I haven't even though about it yet.
Jovan (Charleston): I'm the biggest Ryan Sims fan on the planet! How are you adjusting to finally being on a team where you're not the underdog and expected to win?With huge wins over Florida State and Clemson,does the added pressures of being on a potentially bowl-bound team sometimes cause you play more intensely?
Ryan Sims: (6:50 PM ET ) It is a great adjustment for this team because we have always been an underdog. Many people wrote us off after our slow start, but we are taking pride in being able to get where we are and we will just continue to work hard.
A lot of pressure we feel is pressure we put on ourselves because we have high expectations. We worked hard all summer to get where we are right now and we know we have to just keep doing what we have been doing to get us here.
Ahad Khan, Mooresville, NC: How does it feel to play with Julius Peppers? Are the two of you buddies?
Ryan Sims: (6:51 PM ET ) Were are close guys. He was my roommate freshman so we are close. I have seen him go from a goofy little freshman to the outstanding player he is today.
Al (Union Cross): Great to have you in the Tar Heel family! Ryan, what is the most memorable play this year and also against Tech? GO HEELS-WRECK TECH!
Ryan Sims: (6:52 PM ET ) I would have to say running down and tackling Philip Rivers against N.C. State. If I didn't make the tackle he had about 50 yards with lots of blockers. Plus it was our rivalry game.
Jeff (Leawood): Do you think UNC football will ever be as popular and talked about as much as UNC basketball?
Ryan Sims: (6:54 PM ET ) I think it can . I think we have the coaches in place to build a dynasty. We have the players here that have pride in the school and the football team, so the pieces are in place.
But it's not a basketball school, it's a women's soccer school.
Brian (Chapel Hill): How much of a difference has Coach Bunting made in the locker room and on the sideline? He seems like he really instills a lot of confidence in the team. What a great turn around this season! You guys have made a lot of people around here proud to be Tar Heel fans.
Ryan Sims: (6:54 PM ET ) He has made a big difference. His intensity is electifiying. He has a sense of urgency in practice like we have a game every night. It radiates throughout the team and that intensity creates a good football team.
Andrew (Denver): It's been great to see the Heels turn it around this season. What would you say is the major difference between Coach Bunting's (and the coaching staff's) mentality and approach compared to the previous coaches.
Ryan Sims: (6:56 PM ET ) It is agressiveness as a coach and a person. He was a hardnosed player when he played and he is the same way coaching. He has brought that to a program that had been preceived as "soft" in the past.
enwono eyoh: do you think that the basketball team at carolina is keeping the football team from growing and becoming a power house.
Ryan Sims: (6:57 PM ET ) Oh no. If anything it draws attention to the school which is good. We are trying to show them that there is more to this school than the soccer and hoop programs. I think we feed off each other.
John(Atlanta): I know the pros are far off, but if you could chose one team to go who would it be?
Ryan Sims: (6:58 PM ET ) Right now, I would say the Colts because I think they need someone inside to help them stop the run. I think I could go there and be an impact player NEXT year. It is the same reason I came here, to make an impact. The Colts have everything else in place on offense, they just need a little help on defense.
enwono eyoh: how do you blance school work and football?
Ryan Sims: (7:00 PM ET ) Now that I am a senior, I have learned you have to have good time management. You have to get started early. Playing football doesn't give you much extra time, so you have to stay on top of your work at all times.
It was very hard to learn that as a freshman. If you want to go to college and play football, you have to learn that. That is why I was able to play my freshman year, I learned early how to manage my time.
John(Atlanta): Knowing how people talk especially Offense vs. defense, what is the typical feeling that the D has of your QB leading the way for your team even though he had been a bust to most opions?
Ryan Sims: (7:01 PM ET ) Right now, our offense is really young and they are growing but getting better every week. We knew coming in this year that the heart of the team would be our defense. We want to help the offense anyway we can, and we can tell they are getting better and better each week.
Slappy: What are you expecting in the Georgia Tech game on Thursday?
Ryan Sims: (7:04 PM ET ) I am expecting to play the best game we have played all year in all facets of the game. I think it will be our best game of the year. Time to put up or shut up.
Ryan Sims: (7:04 PM ET ) That's all the time I have for tonight. Thanks for al the great questions and I hope everyone watches on Thursday as we go after our first ACC title in 10 years.
Take care everyone.
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