University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Jim Fleming: Part II
July 23, 2003 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Let's move up and look at the corners.
Coach Fleming: "Nothing is really settled right now in my mind. There is competition at both corner spots.
"Cedrick Holt had the best spring of any of our corners. People began to see him get out there and compete as a true freshman last year. I saw him begin to get more comfortable out there about four games into the season. We got his feet wet a little bit. He played a good game against Florida State and finished the season pretty solid.
"My expectations are for Cedrick to really get on the radar screen this fall. He's got the knack, he's got the knowledge, he's got the intangible stuff. I'm looking for him to be a playmaker, and that's really what we need. You can coach everybody up to be in the right spot most of the time, but the great DBs are the ones who make the plays. They get in position, then they go make the play.
"It's frustrating when you see guys get in position, but then they don't make the play. It drives everybody crazy. We've got to find guys who can step up and make a difference for us defensively. Cedrick has some of that in him. He's very quiet off the field, but when you put him in there he makes the plays. He wrapped up a good spring with a great spring game.
"I hope it catches on with the other guys. I hope they all catch on fire and you see kids making plays left and right.
"If I could write a script, Cedrick would come on in and have a great summer camp, gain a lot of confidence, then play lights out the rest of the season. I hope he'll have the kind of sophomore year where people will start saying that this kid is one of the better ones in the league. We'll see."
TarHeelBlue: How are the other corners progressing?
Coach Fleming: "Derrick Johnson is extremely talented fundamentally. He's got a good package. He's definitely our starting nickel guy. I think we've improved our position this year at the nickel back. He has a good sense of the game.
"Physically, he's got to play big. He's not the tallest guy in the world, but he has the ability to stick a receiver and stay in position and make plays. His whole deal is to elevate his game to where he's competing for a starting spot at the outside corner. He's solid at the nickel spot. I think he can put a nice senior season together.
"Jacoby Watkins is a solid back-up nickel for us. He has a red-shirt year under his belt but hasn't been in a game situation yet. He can run and has a lot of ability. He has to be part of the mix at the corner spot.
"D.J. Walker is a young kid who's another running back turned defensive back. I'm really excited about the possibilities there. He's a long-limbed kid who can run, he's got some height, he's got some arm span. He's got the size that may even allow him to play at safety.
"But again, he's only been at the position for fifteen days. I like the look in his eyes, he's a guy I can continue to bring along. Just like all the other DBs, I look for him to make a contribution to special teams, an area that's going to be crucial to our success this fall.
"I'm expecting him get to the point where I can put him on the field and get some snaps from him.
"This isn't a year where we're going into it with a lot of experience, as there's a lot of inexperienced yet talented kids. You've got to find the right mix of desire and confidence mixed with ability. I know they have ability. It's a matter of putting it all together.
"It's a very visible position when things aren't clicking. We've got to put the whole thing together defensively. Like everybody knows, our best friends are those guys up front putting pressure on the quarterback."
TarHeelBlue: What about the other cornerback position?
Coach Fleming: "Chris Hawkins moved ahead of Waddell in the spring but again, these are open positions. They all know that my mind isn't made up right now. ut, Chris did move ahead of Michael during the spring.
"Michael had a good sophomore year, got some recognition, then came out and had a year that I think was very frustrating for him. Last year was not what he had in mind. He lost a little bit of confidence, then he sustained an injury near the end of the season and missed the last couple of ball games.
"His spring was not easy. He was worried about his school work, he knew he had to graduate. There was a lot of conflict in his mind. I'm very proud of the way he handled his school work.
"This is a make-or-break year for him. First of all, he's got to earn his job back.
"Chris is a guy I've always had my eye on, just as I'm looking at some of these younger guys who have ability. Now it's a question of Chris being able to refine his game, be able to stay on top of it and earn the starting position. That's what Hawkins has to do.
"Anytime you've got a situation at the corner spot where you've got guys who are close both in ability and performance, then you can play the hot hand. Competition in camp will be good, competition all through the year will be good.
"At the same time, the ideal situation is that if you have guys who are close, you can get quality snaps and keep fresh legs on the field. You don't have to play a guy 75 defensive snaps plus another 20 on special teams. You can get full performance out of those positions by being able to substitute some kids.
"Getting back to Michael, he's had a tremendous summer working out so far, he looks great. My expectations are for him to come back in August looking to get his starting job back. It's a question of his going out and playing with great confidence and playing hard.
"At the corner spot you're going to play your two best guys. If it ends up being Hawkins and Waddell, then we'll play those two guys on opposite sides. If it ends up Waddell and Holt, we'll play those two, we just want the best two out there. If it's Holt and Hawkins, we'll play them.
"The two guys who are playing the best on August 30 will be on the field. They may be the two best on that day, then there may be somebody different on Sept 6.
"My group looks outstanding right now. Coach Connors and his staff have been doing a heck of a job with them. They look physically strong, they're running well and it's not a situation where there's physical deficiency. We've just got to make sure that guys step up as playmakers. That's what I'm looking for.
"The starting jobs are going to be based on a mixture of consistency in assignment, alignment, attention to detail, then who's making the plays.
"I'm excited about my group. We've got to have a tremendous training camp, we've got to provide a tremendous amount of leadership on the defensive side of the ball. It's time for us to step up and take control of things.
"We're inexperienced at the other spots. We've got some kids coming back on the front seven, but we've got to count on our kids playing well on the back end to be able to do the things we need to do to stop people in this league."
