University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Andre' Powell: Part II
July 17, 2003 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Was giving up too many sacks the biggest problem with the backs last year, or was it something else?
Coach Powell: "I think that when Andre' Williams wasn't able to go and Mahlon Carey and D.J. Walker weren't physically or mentally ready to play early in the season, that left us with just two tailbacks. We weren't able to create the competition that we wanted.
"Also, I think I have to do a better job at getting my guys to be more disciplined. It would be real easy for me to sit here and tell you the guys weren't good enough, I'm not going to do that. I'm in charge of coaching them.
"I'm certainly not going to blame the offensive line. None of those guys on the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line made the Pro Bowl until Emmitt Smith got there. It was the same line, then Emmitt Smith got there, now they're in the Pro Bowl. Emmitt made them good. That's what I want to do to our line.
"I want to have a great offensive line, then make them better by my guys doing what they're supposed to do all the time. It's my job to get them to do that."
TarHeelBlue: Mentioning the offensive line, how closely do you work with Coach Hunter?
Coach Powell: "We sit in the same meeting room, we've got to be on the same page. Things happen so fast. A lot of things you do you have to do before the ball is snapped. You have to be able to anticipate. My guys have to be able to hear the line calls, and when they can't hear, they have to look over at the defense and anticipate what they'll have to do.
"The line and the backs have to speak the same language in terms of both running game and passing game. A lot of things change based on how the defense lines up. You have to make adjustments."
TarHeelBlue: What will your role be on special teams?
Coach Powell: "I'll still be in charge of the punt protection team. We're going to do some new things, but the nuts and bolts of it will be the same.
"We've got a lot of new guys in there. I spend most of my time thinking about those guys inside, those blockers. There's eight guys in there, and we've got to replace four of them. Hedgecock is back, Greg Warren is back, Jacque is back and Brandon Russell is back.
"I think you'll see better kicking as competition is going to make that better. Some of the things we're going to do with our kicker will enable him to kick the ball better."
TarHeelBlue: You mentioned four new guys in the interior of punt protection. Do you know now who they will be?
Coach Powell: "Guys like Melik Brown, Danny Rumley, maybe Chad Scott will be in the mix. I'm trying to keep some of my older guys as backups, guys who I know are going to play a lot. We're going to force feed the younger kids to try to get them ready. As the year goes on, some of the true freshmen are going to have to play on the punt team."
TarHeelBlue: Looking to the future, what are your recruiting needs at tailback?
Coach Powell: "Ronnie McGill is the only tailback in the incoming class. We need to get a big-league tailback this year, maybe two. We lost Andre' Williams, and Willie Parker graduates this year. The following year really concerns me. We'll lose two that year, Jacque and Chad. They've got two more years.
"I would rather play with a guy that's got a little experience. I don't mind playing a freshman, but a guy like Ronnie McGill will be a lot better in two years than he is now.
"I'd love to get at least one, maybe two, who we can let learn the system and not have to be force feed too much. We gave Ronnie a lot of new things in a hurry and he was able to handle it, but Ronnie's an exceptional kid in terms of football maturity.
"I feel good about our recruiting. We've got more people on campus involved with the process. The things we do during on-campus visits have changed. It's more relaxed now, the kids have a better chance to get to know our guys, to see the town in a relaxed atmosphere. That's been a big improvement.
"Still, once a kid gets here, it really does help to get a couple of years of preparation. When I was at Virginia, Thomas Jones didn't become a good tailback until his junior year. He played behind Tiki Barber as a freshman, then when Tiki was gone his sophomore year he wasn't all that effective. By his junior year he was pretty darn effective.
"Tiki was the same way. He gained 147 yards his freshman year, then his sophomore year he backed up. As a junior he really came on.
"Normally it takes a couple of years for guys to develop. There's a lot of things that you say to them that really doesn't stick in their minds. You have to go over it several times before they really understand it.
"Football is blocking and tackling, but the terminology is different. They may have lined up the same way in high school, but they called it X and we call it Y. It takes time before they can really sit down and talk football and see mentally what they're talking about."
TarHeelBlue: What will Andre' Williams be doing this year?
Coach Powell: "Andre' will be a student volunteer coach, but the exact nature of his role on this year's team hasn't been totally defined. You can't find a better kid than Andre' Williams.
"He had a really good sophomore year, he did a great job for us. It was very disappointing that he got hurt. He had good size and speed.
"We're going to miss Andre' on the field."
TarHeelBlue: Which is more important, the technical part of coaching or the non-technical part?
Coach Powell: "You have to be an X and O guy, but that can only carry you so far. The X and O aspect of the game is overrated if you can't reach your players.
"Player relations, understanding what makes your players tick, creating an atmosphere where your players are comfortable around you, all those things are very important. They don't always have to like you, I much prefer it when they do, but they have to respect you. Trust and respect are one and the same."
TarHeelBlue: Was last year your toughest season as a coach?
Coach Powell: "I've had worse seasons. I've had worse seasons when we won nine or ten games because of the guys I was working with. But because our staff is so close knit and gets along so well together, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"We could have gotten down, but the leadership at the top of the staff kept that from happening.
"Nobody likes to lose, it was hard. When you lose, you always think it's your fault. You're always trying to find a solution. My guys didn't play as well as they could have and that's really weighed on me.
"It wasn't effort, young kids make mistakes. Sometimes you're able to absorb them and work through them, but last year we couldn't. I think part of it was that we needed better leadership on our team. We've got some guys who need to become leaders.
"On offense I'm talking about guys like Jason Brown and Jeb Terry. Darian Durant will be a better player, Jacque and Willie will be better. Willie's said to me several times 'This is my last year, and I'm going to make the most of it.'
"We were actually in most of our games last year, but those young kids had a hard time. They got tired physically, they got tired mentally. We've just got to keep working and finding creative ways to help them learn their position and help them learn how to win."
