University of North Carolina Athletics
Player Quotes on Chase Page
August 18, 2004 | Football
Aug. 18, 2004
Several Tar Heels commented Wednesday morning on the loss of Chase Page to a season-ending hand injury.
Isaiah Thomas
On filling the leadership void
"Chase and Jonas (Seawright) are like the big brothers of the defensive line. Now Jonas steps up as the father figure."
On Khalif Mitchell moving to tackle
"Khalif is 300 pounds, he's just a player. He'll get it done either way."
On whether they immediately knew Page was out for the year
"We didn't know, because he got back in there and played the next play. That just shows what kind of player he is."
Darian Durant
On making sure the injury doesn't cause a negative mood among teammates
"I don't think we have that mentality anymore. That mentality is gone. Chase was really the voice of our team, but I think the seniors will step up and become more vocal."
Madison Hedgecock
On filling the leadership void
"We've got plenty of seniors on our team. It's a big loss leadership wise, but we'll pick up the slack between us."
Jonas Seawright
On his reaction
It was a sick feeling for me. I got very teary eyed. Chase is like a brother to me. We talked and he's going to be at every practice. He's going to be like an assistant coach to Coach Lawing. He's going to be there in spirit.
On filling the role of a vocal leader
Now everybody is looking for somebody else to step up. Me being a fifth-year senior and playing defensive line, I feel its my duty - and something that Chase would want me to do - to be a vocal leader for the rest of the young guys.
