University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Player Press Conference Quotes
September 16, 2003 | Football
Sept. 16, 2003
Senior Defensive Tackle, Issac Mooring
Q: You want to win obviously, yet, how do you focus just on the day?
A: "As Coach Bunting said at the beginning of the season, we are going to take each game as it comes and not look forward to any games. At the beginning of the season you look at the schedule and you have those games you look forward to, but coach emphasized that we must take it one game at a time."
Q: Coach Bunting was saying earlier today that he wants to win. He said that this year's team should not be judged on wins, this team should be judged on how much better it gets from now to the end of the year. How do you feel about the ultimate goal- team progress and not necessarily wins?
A: "I really don't know too much about that. Of course our goal is to win every game we play. We are all going to compete as hard as we can. We are going to go in with a good game plan and try to execute to best of out abilities."
With your role increasing, what have you done to make sure you will make the best of your opportunity when you get on the field?
A: "I will try to help out the younger guys to make sure they know the defense and that they are able to help the team when they get the opportunity to play. That's basically my role."
There are a bunch of young defensive ends on the team who have not had an opportunity to play. Who are the good ones?
A: "They all have ability. It's just a matter of then getting the opportunity and they will when they show that they deserve it. A lot of older players like myself, Chase Page, and Jonas Seawright take the role of trying to help the younger players learn the defense better so that they will get the opportunity to play."
Q: How do you react to the fact that according to NCAA statistics North Carolina is dead last in total defense?
A: "It's just little things here and there that is messing us up. We've had good game plans but we are young and we will get better with more practice and more focus."
Q: Has Coach Bunting taken more of a role with the defense?
A: "He has always taken an interest in the defense. He likes to have a hand in setting up the linebackers. That's what any coach would do."
Q: Are you guys focusing on not giving up the big play?
A: "We call those explosive plays and we can eliminate the explosive plays because we have a pretty good defense. We can fix the missed tackles and the missed assignments."
Q: You are going to a place this weekend which is a Big Ten venue. It's huge. The fans are a little bit different than those in the ACC. What do you do to help the young players keep their heads?
A: "I was thinking about that when we were getting ready to play Florida State. I saw one of the younger players looking around the stadium and I noticed he was kind of big eyed. I told him once you get out there on the field the fans disappear and it's just you and the guys lined up in front of you and that's what I emphasize to the young guys."
Junior Center, Jason Brown
Q: How do you keep yourselves from pressing to get a win as opposed to going out and playing and having fun?
A: "The main thing right now is mental focus and having the mind frame of preparing for this weekend's game. One thing that Coach Bunting went over yesterday was that we should play together -- we should play for one another and that will be the difference as to how we play at Wisconsin."
Q: "Is it hard not to think about wins when you get off to a slow start?
A: "It makes the urgency for a win a lot more intense. Right now we are definitely hungrier, almost to the point of starving. The intensity level is high and we know we have to pull this one out."
Q: "How much pressure is the offense under to carry the load?
A: "We take a lot of responsibility on the offense especially the offensive line. We are very committed to this team, to our quarterbacks, and to the wide receivers. We owe it to one another to set the pace. We want to be an example."
Q: Are you still focusing on time of possession and control of the ball?
A: "We can't have a good passing game without a good running game and vice-versa. We are working on both aspects -- blocking for our quarterbacks and opening up holes for our running backs. This will allow us to control the ball."
Q: "What elements have the freshmen brought to the team?
A: "My experience as a freshman was that I came in full of enthusiasm. Although I did not fully understand my blocking assignments or understood the mental aspect of the game, I came in with a lot of vigor and I see that with the freshmen who are playing right now. They display a lot of enthusiasm and that is something that we need right now and if we can contain them and help them to be more mentally focused we will see some bigger things out of them."
Q: "What kind of improvements have you seen from the end of the Syracuse game and now?
A: "One big thing that we focused on was the fundamentals. We had trouble with tackling in the past couple of games and we have definitely worked on that aspect of our game."
Q: "How daunting of a task is it to go out on the road given that all your success came on the road last year? Are you just more relaxed on the road?
A: "I am not sure if it's because of the different atmosphere or maybe there is just better water elsewhere. It's hard to explain. When we went to Arizona [State] last year we experienced a great atmosphere. We saw new scenery and that may have made the guys more relaxed. We were away from all the pressures of home. We owe a tremendous amount to our fans and playing an away game took the pressure off. That's just one of my theories."
