University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Jim Webster: Part III
December 10, 2001 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: The players are obviously buying into the message you're sending them.
Coach Webster: "We're not giving discounts out. They're going to pay the full price. This isn't any half-price, 50%-off deal. There's not a sale going on here. You've got to pay the full price.
"I think a lot of the guys have paid the full price. Some of them haven't and they're no longer here with us. Some of the young guys are still deciding if they want to pay full price. Some of them still want to get a sale, but we're not giving a sale.
"You've got to buy into the program 100%, whether you're Julius Peppers or some guy who doesn't play much. You've got to treat them all the same."
TarHeelBlue: How do you achieve discipline on a football team?
Coach Webster: Any discipline you have on a football team is only as good as the head coach makes it. You've got to have his backing. There's nothing I can do from a discipline standpoint without John's backing.
"To have good discipline, the players have to know the coaches have the backing of the head coach. I have had John's full support, and that's why we have discipline, because the players know John's position on that issue."
TarHeelBlue: How much has Julius Peppers progressed this season?
Coach Webster: "For the first time since I've been here, I saw Julius Peppers get emotional on the sideline and on the football field against SMU.
"I saw him getting in people's faces and really getting on them on the field and on the sidelines. When I saw Julius doing that, you know what I did? I backed off. I said 'Hey, if he's doing that, I'm going to let him do it.'
"He became the emotional leader, he became the motivator. That meant something to those guys to see Julius like that. Julius really got emotional. I love the kid for doing that.
"Anytime you go to the next level, you have to learn. What I think Julius Peppers learned against SMU is that football is a game of emotion and sometimes you have to feel it inside as well as show it outside.
"That's the first time I've really seen him show it outside since I've been here. He was a force against SMU. He played well. But even more important than how he played was his outward emotion. It made me feel good.
"The reason I bring this up is because I think Julius is still learning about what it's going to take to become the All-Pro player that he's going to become. It takes emotion, you can't just go out there and do it. You've got to feel emotion both inwardly and outwardly.
"Julius will eventually get to be where he needs to be the player that he can and will be. It's a learning process.
"This year he took great strides for getting ready for the next level. Against SMU, he took a huge, giant step."
TarHeelBlue: How are his technical skills?
Coach Webster: "He's got some things to learn, but he knows so much. You always hear about what he's got to learn, but you don't hear about what he already knows. You can be a 10-year pro and still be learning.
"I've challenged him in practice, I've challenged him in meetings, I've challenged him in games, letting him know exactly how I feel. He didn't shut down, he responded well. It's a mark of maturity.
"Like I tell my players, respect me as a man and I'll respect you as a man. Respect me as a coach, and I'll respect you as a player. That's the relationship we've had this year.
"I want him to be a better person in life as well as in football. That's my goal.
"He'll be ready. I'm extremely, extremely proud of Julius."
TarHeelBlue: You had a discussion with Kevin Knight early in the third quarter against SMU. What were you telling him?
Coach Webster: "I'm sure you can imagine what everybody else was telling Kevin Knight (after his 3rd-quarter fumble). None of it was nice. I waited till they were all done, then I went over to the kid.
"You could just see the burden of the whole season on his shoulders as a result of that one play. I told him 'Look, that play is done and over. There is nothing you can do about that play, but there is something you can do about the next play.'
"I told him he would not be benched because of that one play, that he still had to play, he had to return more kickoffs, he had to play more coverage. I told him we had a whole lot more football to play, and that if he was going to go out and be thinking about that fumble, then he could really be detrimental to us.
"I told him the only thing that matters is what you do, not what you did, because what you did you did. That's a done deal. You've got to go out and contribute to a victory.
"I think it made him feel better. He went back out there and played a good football game. We didn't need him in the tank, he's too important to us.
"He responded well."
TarHeelBlue: Are people feeling good about the direction of the program?
Coach Webster: "I wish we could have had every single recruit at that game yesterday. To watch that game and see the enthusiasm with the Chancellor, the AD and the fans, and then go into that locker room afterwards, it was great.
"There's no greater recruiting tool than a victory that sends you to a bowl game.
"After the game that locker room was unbelievable. You can't tell me football isn't important at Carolina. Other schools try to use that against us in recruiting, but you've got to be kidding me. The only guy they can sell that to is one that doesn't come to a game.
"If you were here against SMU and saw that crowd and all that enthusiasm and just pure joy when we accepted the bowl bid, you couldn't help but be impressed. It was a joyous day for Carolina football.
"And it all happened under Carolina blue skies. How can you beat that?
"It's just another day in Blue Heaven."
Part I, Wednesday,
Dec. 5:
Webster discusses the lessons the team learned this year.
Part II, Saturday,
Dec. 8:
Webster on motivation and emotion.
