University of North Carolina Athletics
Player Quotes
June 7, 2004 | Football
June 7, 2004
Q: Are you guys confident this season with the difficult schedule you will face?
A:
"I think we are very confident. If you look at the schedule this year, with the home games we have, the bulk of our schedule is at home. Looking at last year, we had a lot of games where we were just one stop away, or one score away from winning, so there is no reason why our confidence shouldn't be high."Q: How is it with the two new defensive coaches here and the way they are improving the defense?
A:
"It is a great feeling. To go out there and know that you don't have to do everything, it is really going to take a lot of pressure off of me and my offensive teammates. Coach Sanders and Coach Gutekunst have done a lot of things to stop us, and if they can do things to stop our offense, then they should be able to stop people they don't play against in practice."Q: How does it help the offense with the defense being able to stop you in practice?
A:
"It helps a lot. It gets you ready for the type of schedule that we have. Those guys coming together like that, like I said it takes a lot of pressure off us."Q: Is there any pressure having teams like Miami and Virginia Tech coming into Chapel Hill this Fall?
A:
"I think it would be extra pressure if we had to go on the road. But having those teams play here, not saying it is going to be an easy game, but hopefully our crowd will make it tough on them if it gets close."Q: How has the running game looked this Spring?
A:
"I have seen a lot of progression in our running game. The key to our running game is that if our defense makes a lot of stops, then that gives us the opportunity to run the ball, because we won't have to score quickly. Last year we got down a lot early and we had to throw the ball. Teams knew what we were going to do, so if we can keep the defense in a situation where they don't know what is coming, then that is to our advantage."Q: How has coach Bunting been and do you think he is feeling a lot of pressure?
A:
"He is the same. He doesn't feel any pressure and the team doesn't feel any pressure. You hear a lot of talk about the pressure that we may be under, but if you see the general feeling pressure, then the soldiers will too. So he is just a calm and collected kind of guy."Q: Do you guys feel a lot pressure going into this year?
A:
"Yeah. If you can't perform under pressure, then you are in the wrong sport. This is big-time college football. I am excited. I am taking it as a challenge and I think my defensive teammates are too. We had a miserable year statistically, but we had a lot of positive things that we can build on. We had good red-zone defense and we did some good things against certain teams. We are just looking to build on that. With the new coaches here, we just want to do what they tell us to do and play really hard and prove people wrong."Q: What was the biggest problem last year?
A:
"Statistics don't really tell the whole tale. It was a combination of things. We had five true freshmen on the field. I don't care who you are, it is rare for you to come straight out of high school and come in and be proficient. I mean Julius Peppers didn't play his freshman year and he was a physical specimen ... We had some youth issues, and with the youth comes mental breakdowns."Q: How would you describe Coach Gutekunst's and Coach Sanders' style?
A:
"They are not really your 'rah, rah', screaming type of guys. They tell you what to do, and if you don't do it, they take you out and stop talking to you. I think if you do something wrong, it is more of a disappointing feeling coming from them. A lot more calm and a lot more technical feel. They are real positive and upbeat guys and it rubs off on the defense."Q: How is your jaw and are you back to full strength?
A:
"Yeah I am back. I came back a few weeks ago. It is doing pretty good. It doesn't hurt that much anymore."Q: Take us back to how you hurt the jaw. Was it a real hard hit?
A:
"It actually wasn't a real hard hit. I was in the air going for the ball, and when I came down he (D.J. Walker) was going up. He just hit me right underneath my chin. That is what made it bad. That and I didn't even have my mouthpiece in."Q: Are you back to where you need to be in terms of weight and strength?
A:
"Yeah, I have been lifting and stuff. Just like my other teammates, but I just have to lift more often."Q: What was the worst part of having to watch the last two weeks of practice?
A:
"It was just hard not being out there. The guys were having a good time and it was something I couldn't even come out to. I just stayed in my room because it was hard coming around to the football field and watching."Q: Coach Bunting says that you study film all the time. What do you study and what are you looking to improve on?
A:
"When I go in there, I look at receivers from other teams. I look at Lee Evans and Craphonso Thorpe and others. I just like to see how they do stuff and how we do stuff and compare and contrast. Then I look at other teams defenses and try to study their defenses and prepare for them."Q: How does Ronnie McGill look?
A:
"He is up to 215 pounds and he runs a 4.3 40. The offensive line, we have been waiting for the right running back to step up so that we can generate another 1,000-yard back. I truly see it Ronnie."Q: What makes it so fun to block for him?
A:
"Because he is not scared to hit the hole. Most times when the offensive play develops, it doesn't develop pretty. There is so much the offensive line has to do that you have to have faith in us because there is just a small crease. But if you keep going on that track, that hole is going to spread. Ronnie, if the hole is that wide, he is going to hit that hole and he has the die-hard mentality. Whatever is waiting on the other side of that hole, he doesn't care. That is what we like about him."Q: How is it going to make Darian better knowing you guys have a solid running back pounding the ball?
A:
"Its easy. It is easy playing with guys when you have confidence. Darian has a great arm, but it makes it a lot easier on him knowing that we only have to pick up a few yards instead of a bunch on third down."
