Tommy Richardson and Kyle Ralph Quotes

October 4, 2005 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Oct. 4, 2005

Q: About the three-fumble recoveries during the Utah game, do think that was luck or do you think that's something you do?
Richardson--

"I believe a lot of it is luck, but like I always tell people when you have seven guys running around the ball all the time good things are bound to happen. We are going to continue to run around and hopefully more good things will happen because we have to get in the end zone one of these weeks as a defense."

Q: When you watch film, you study your own defense; why is the defense better? What are you doing now that you could not pull off in the past?
Richardson--"We are getting pressure with our front four. We don't have to send five and six guys all the time. When you can do that with a Tommy Davis and a Hilee Taylor as well as the inside with guys like Chase Page and Kyndraus Guy, you have an outstanding component as part of your defense."

Q: When it comes to talking to other teammates, is that a role as far as being a leader that you can bring?
Richardson--"Yes; I do a lot with the younger guys because I know how it is around here when you are not playing, especially when you are not playing and they recruited you to play and you get down on yourself. So I do a lot, like going to their study hall times to talk to them. During the games I am talking with the guys, just seeing what's going on with the defense, because we all want to be on the same page and we are still getting better with that."

Q: Can you describe your comfort zone as a linebacker versus when you came up and all the sudden you are playing in an entirely different position?
Richardson--"I am comfortable because my teammates trust me ... they know I'm going to be in the right place and so it really gets me down when I let them down. On a couple of occasions I let my man go and they scored a touchdown because I brought the linebackers up and I should not have. But I'm getting better every week and so is the defense. We are nowhere near our capabilities."

Kyle Ralph, Senior Offensive Guard

Q: What happened in last years Louisville game that caused it to be such a tough time for you guys?
Ralph--

"The had a great offense last year. Their offense put a lot of points on the board, there is no doubt about that, and they still have a great offense this year. For us offensively, we made a lot of critical mistakes last year. We continuously shot ourselves in the foot last year with just stupid things like missed assignments on the offensive line. The offense has to be a machine and it has to be clicking, and last year in that game we were not working like a machine. It was one of the poorest offensive games we had last year."

Q: Can you speak to the depth you guys have in the backfield this year.
Ralph-- "I think that is really important also. Having Ronnie McGill in there as a three-back rotation is really important because those guys can stay fresh and be 100 percent when they get the ball on their carries. It is really great that we have the potential of four running backs who can carry the ball and carry the ball well for us and for Ronnie to be able to come back is also a huge factor."

Q: What's impacted more by their ability to be fresh -- their ability to read, follow a scheme or is it just driving their legs?
Ralph-- "It's partially both; the better they are running the ball the more they can see and when they come back to the side lines and we all sit on the bench each one can talk about what they are seeing out there and share those things with all the other running backs and their legs will be more fresh and they will be able to come in the game and go full speed for two or three plays in a row a come and sit out for two or three plays or more and both of those are really, really an advantage for us I think."

Q: About Matt Baker, how has he performed in the last two games where he may have been down in the first half but came back in the second half?
Ralph-- "It shows you a lot about Matt's character. We didn't do too well in the first half but he comes in the lockerroom and refocuses and makes some adjustments and he looks at the adjustments and he makes them and I think it's great that he can do that. He came out last week and played a great second half and threw some really, really great balls and some good touchdown throws and I thinks that shows a lot about his character to come out from a deficit there in the first half we did not play as well as we wanted to and wasn't playing as well as he wanted to and to come back and play as well as he did in the second half really shows a lot about him as a person and a player I think."

Q: Talk about how this offensive line has progressed especially in the last couple of years and can you touch on the stability you guys have had under coach [Hal] Hunter?
Ralph--"I think coach Hal Hunter is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country if not the best. He always has us prepared for what is going to happen. Last year we had a lot of great players on the offensive line, Jason Brown and Willie McNeill and those guys, but they are not here anymore. Having those guys last year was one of the major successes of the running game and the offensive line. This year we haven't been as productive as we were last year but we are still be coached the exact same way and we are always put in the exact same circumstances that we were last year and coach Hunter always makes sure we are in the right play and doing the right schemes at the right time. This year the problem right now is just execution -- getting the play done correctly the way it's supposed to be done every single time. And it's not as much as a cohesion thing on the offensive line, it's just that there are breakdowns and sometimes some of the breakdowns are critical and we have to stop the critical mistakes and critical breakdowns and begin to move along from there."