University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Jim Webster: Part II
July 9, 2003 | Football
TarHeelBlue: Who are your leaders on special teams?
Coach Webster: "I miss Ronald Brewer. You talk about leaders and his name is the first that comes to mind, but he's not here anymore. He was a great leader. He loved it, he worked hard.
"Just like you need leaders on offense or defense, you need leaders on special teams. I'm sure that we'll have some strong leaders emerge after fall practice.
"It could be a true freshman. I will be very surprised if we don't have some true freshmen starting on special teams, even the first game against Florida State.
"If they're ready, we'll put them out there. We're not holding them back."
TarHeelBlue: Earlier you mentioned changing attitudes about playing on special teams? Do you think you were successful?
Coach Webster: "I think progress was made. The very first thing that got their attention was when John made the change, and when he explained why he was making the change. Just making the change caused a change in attitudes. John's restructuring of his staff made a big statement about how he feels about special teams.
"John is at every special teams meeting, from start to finish. He's not in all offensive and defensive meetings from start to finish, but he is at all special teams meetings. He's also done that the past two years. The players see that and realize how important special teams are to him.
"Our special teams play has not been as good as we would have liked the past couple of years. Personnel has a lot to do with that, no matter who's coaching. Sometimes players don't have the enthusiasm and excitement about special teams that they did about offense and defense and we've got to change that.
"We have raised the talent level since we've been here. I'm licking my chops over this incoming freshman class. I wish they could have been here in the spring because we're going to play them.
"For some guys, special teams is their seat on the plane or the bus. That's the only way some of the younger guys are going to get to play."
TarHeelBlue: You mentioned the incoming freshman class. How did you guys recruit so well coming off a 3-9 season?
Coach Webster: "If you're a good coach and a good staff you don't rest on your laurels after a good season and think that kids are going to want to come here just because you had a good year. By the same token, if you don't have the success you want to have, you don't get down in the dumps about it either. A good staff goes out every year and works hard regardless of the record you had.
"We've been working hard at recruiting since we've been here. We've had some good times and we've had some frustrating times. Recruiting is like everything else you do. If you really want to be good at something, you're constantly evaluating how you're doing it and how you can improve. You need to do that whether you're successful or a failure. You look at what needs to be changed, what can be changed, how can we do it better, how can we do it differently, how can we appeal to these kids.
"This staff has evaluated itself, and John has evaluated what we've done. This past year was really just our second full year of recruiting. The first year we came in we were basically trying to get a staff together.
"We've made some changes since just this past recruiting year. We'll do some things differently next year. If people realize the situation we walked into and the changes we've made, if they'll be patient with us, we will become champions.
"This class that we just signed is a huge step towards getting that done."
TarHeelBlue: Some staffs seem hesitant to use a scholarship on kickers. How do you feel about that?
Coach Webster: "If you're going to use one on a quarterback, you might as well use one on a kicker. Most schools get their kickers from walk-ons, but we're losing all of our kickers next year except for Wooldridge. He's the only one coming back next year, so we've got to get a kicker. We don't have any in our incoming class."
TarHeelBlue: How is coaching at your alma mater different than coaching at another school?
Coach Webster: "Pressure. I think there's a pressure that you put on yourself because you've invested in this program. That's not to say that the other coaches don't care, that's not my point, because they do care, immensely. I'm just talking about myself.
"I invested in this program under an extremely tough coach. If you put a dollar in the bank in 1968 and a dollar in the bank in 2000, that dollar from 1968 is going to have more return.
"You hurt a little more when things don't go right, you probably have a little more joy when things do go right. Emotions are a little more extreme.
"I feel an obligation to every guy who has ever worn a Carolina uniform."
TarHeelBlue: How hard was last year on you guys?
Coach Webster: "Last season was a gut check, to put it in simple terms. Just as players sometimes have to do a gut check, so do coaches. When you take a body blow, you go 'Wow, what am I doing here?' You've got to tighten up or you'll get knocked out.
"It was a very tough season."
TarHeelBlue: Did the losing cause the staff to do question the way they do things?
Coach Webster: "No, I don't think anyone on the staff questioned the way we were doing things. I think everybody had confidence in the way we were doing things.
"We did realize we're playing in a tough conference, plus we play a tough non-conference schedule. If you're going to play those kind of schedules, if you're going to play those kinds of people, then you've got to get tough guys.
"That's why I said I couldn't wait to go out and start recruiting, because we knew we had to go out and find some tough guys. Guys that love playing football, guys that if you push, they push back. You've got to have tough football players.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not down on our players in any way, shape or form. All I'm saying is that to win at this level, with this schedule, you've got to have tough football players.
"One of the main things we wanted to accomplish in the spring was to become a tougher team. If there is such a thing as making a person tougher, then we did the things that you would do to make someone tougher."
TarHeelBlue: How much does Coach Connors contribute to that process?
Coach Webster: "He contributes every day. He works with every single player on the team. Plus, right now, we can't be with them but he can.
"Let me put it this way. If they're not tough for him, then they won't be tough for us.
"When we get them, they've got to be ready, because we don't have time to get them ready. Jeff does a great job of getting them ready for us."
TarHeelBlue: Did the staff chemistry and morale stay good last year?
Coach Webster: "The competitive nature of an individual requires a knowledge of what's helpful and what's destructive. When you're a competitor you want to win. If you want to win, then you don't do things that are destructive, because you know they're interfering with your chance to win.
"Your concept is to destroy the opponent, not to destroy yourself. That's your ultimate goal. You don't allow things to destroy from within.
"One of the advantages of having an experienced staff, which we have here, is that we've all been there before. We knew how to handle it. We didn't panic. We could have, but because we have older coaches, because of John's leadership, we didn't panic. We didn't explode from within.
"We just went to work and kept working hard. Once again, whether you're winning or losing, you always have to evaluate what you're doing and see if you can do it better. We did that after a good first year here, then we did that after a poor second season. We'll do it again after next year.
"One of the biggest things we could think of was simply to get some tough football players. That's what we went out and did.
"I never allowed myself to get down. I love the game, I love the sport, I love to work with young people.
"Losing just created more of an eagerness to get back out there. We've got to get this thing right, we've got to get back on the right track."
