University of North Carolina Athletics
John Bunting Press Conference Quotes
October 4, 2005 | Football
Oct. 4, 2005
Opening Statement:
"Once again I think our team did a great job last evening putting the Utah game behind us. We're excited about that win but now we have to focus in on a team that beat us soundly last year. It was a 10-0 ballgame at halftime. It was a game that I thought we were in every bit of the way.
"Despite the fact that I thought there were some missed opportunities in the first half with a couple dropped balls and a couple missed connections from quarterback to receiver, that team absolutely took us apart in the second half. That team last year was number one in the country in total offense, yards per game. They were number one in the country in scoring offense and now they're really falling off. They're 20-yards shorter per game and seven points less, averaging 42.5 per game and 510 yards per game, seventh and tenth respectively in total offense and scoring offense. So they're very good on offense again.
"Their offensive line is one of the best that we'll play. Multiple personnel groups in and out doesn't seem to make a difference they just throw it out there and you've got to defend it. We'll have to play very very well to stay in the game with them.
"Their defense is extremely active, as they were last year, and very very disruptive. It takes some risks. They blitz or dog frequently. They've got two towering outside linebackers that just create havoc coming off the edges and their defensive front four is extremely disruptive.
"We'll be playing against a team that is very, very capable of blowing anybody out. We just need to keep playing the way we've been playing. I'd love to see us play a complete game over there. That is, taking care of our business on defense, trying to get better at that, which I think we can. Then, run the ball a little bit better, make the throws, and make the catches when the defense allows or when they take too big of a risk and we can make a play. That'll be what it comes down to on offense; we've got to make a few plays.
"Special teams, it was great to see some improvement last week. I hope we carry that over to this week. The things that we changed, personnel-wise on kickoff, paid off. Hopefully it will do that, likewise, again. I think Trimane Goddard and Quiton Person did a tremendous job at the point of attack, which is where we made a change in the kickoff coverage. Justin Warren and Mark Pascal did a great job for us also in the kickoff coverage. We need to keep doing that with our gunners, Wallace, Mike, when he's healthy, Trimane last week, and somebody else has got to step in and help us there. We got good coverage out of those guys last week. Our punter did an exceptional job last week with hangtime. In the game he was over 4.1 on three out of five or six kicks he had. That's important to punt coverage also.
"We need to go over and play our best game to have a chance to win."
On South Florida's victory over Louisville and how he will take that into account:
"Everybody's different. We'll look at some of the things they did to see if we can use, within our system, things to exploit what they do. Every team is different. We have different types of players. We need to take advantage of our offensive line, get our run game going a little bit, and we need to protect our quarterback because he'll make the throws."
On Coach Thigpin's influence on Larry Edwards and the other UNC linebackers:
"As you know, Tommy has a great deal of pride, not only as a person but as a UNC graduate and football player. I think that has impacted Larry a great deal. I think that that pride is spilling over into the continued development of Larry. Larry is maturing, which for the most part was his biggest nemesis, his biggest problem. Most kids have some maturity things that they have to learn and grow from. Larry has thrived under his leadership. Tommy Richardson has taken it to another level under Tommy's leadership. I see Victor Worsley playing better than he's ever played before. I see Durell Mapp starting to grow. Chase Rice is also going to be a good player. Tommy's affecting all of them, but he's had a dramatic effect on Larry because I think Larry has truly bought into doing things right, being on time, the little things. Things that seem little to us are big to some kids that come out of different places that are not disciplined. Larry's become a much more disciplined person."
On Louisville's running back and how Carolina will defend against him:
"He's an old-fashioned clavicle buster. He's gonna bust you up. He's big. He's not only tall but he's thick, particularly in the lower end. He's strong. He's really straight-line fast. When he does get an opening he's going to take it a distance. He'll take it to the ranch if you give him that hole too. He can do that. He can run away from people. He's a complete guy. I think last year they had six players taken in the NFL Draft. Their quarterback last year did a tremendous job. He also had the added dimension of the option, which they've haven't run yet. The quarterback they have now did play last year as a true freshman, so he's got game experience. He's an outstanding thrower. I think he was one of the number one quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school. But, they had two other running backs that played and may have gone to the NFL. I think one of them was the second round pick of the Panthers. They still have another running back that plays a lot now that is very good. Colby Smith, number 33, is a really good player. They're not afraid to have them both in the same backfield. You'll see them both in there in tandem, kind of like we used to do with Jacque and Chad or Jacque and Willie. They'll have what we call a pony backfield with two backs back there.
"I'm going to give you another Bill Dooley ... `Your value to the team is proportionate to your distance to the ball carrier. Every man must strive to be the most valuable on every play.' So multiple hats to the football is what team defense is all about. That's were you get the so-called `gang' tackling. That's were balls come out too. So, that's helping a great deal. People being disciplined about gap control and if it's a perimeter play, getting to the play. I'll give you an example of a guy that played extremely well the other day. For the first time this year I awarded a game ball to Quinton Person. He goes in and steps in because Jacoby's down and plays 72 plays on defense and approximately 20 plays on special teams, which are full speed plays. He had 10 solo tackles. He got a game ball for those efforts. Here's one of the smallest players and probably not the fastest, but one of the best football players we have. He and Trimane Goddard and Ced Holt did a great job on the perimeter doing their jobs, while the other players got to the ball carrier."
On Ronnie McGill and how he will be used against Louisville:
"I talked with his mom last night, Juanita. She was thrilled that her son would be playing again. She only has a few words for me, `Don't let him get hurt.' I said I'll do the best I can. He is excited about playing. Myself, [trainer] Scott Oliaro, and his position coach Andre Powell met yesterday and I called his mom last night and it's full speed ahead. I think that number that I gave out the other day, 20-25 snaps, is what I'm thinking.
"I haven't thought too much about how he'll fit in with the other backs yet. We will think about that and we will discuss that. I've thrown that out there to the staff and I don't expect an answer nor do I need one until Thursday or Friday when we really start to put our game plan thoughts together. Right now I think it's just important for him to practice and continue to gain some confidence.
"He's going to be strapped up a little bit. They're going to limit his motion some. He's going to be somewhat limited with what he can do with his left arm. Someone upstairs in the box may have seen him throwing a football in pregame and thought maybe he was completely well because he threw the ball 70 yards into the tunnel and almost killed a policeman or something. He can hum it. But, it's actually his left arm.
"Getting him back and used to full contact is a giant concern. He has not gone through a training camp. That's not just a concern for his shoulder. It's an overall. We can't simulate that in practice. Now, if you go over to the defensive side and we put him in as a scout back we could simulate it, but I'm not going to do that to him either. We'll save that for the game. Offense and defense practice a little differently. Defensively, you have unbelievable high-pitch tempo, and if you ever watch our practice, that's how we practice. It's almost like a scrimmage every day."
On how Carolina's offense will approach Louisville's defense:
"We had some quicker hitting plays against NC State. We have got to do what the defense allows us to do. This defense we're facing is extremely disruptive. They're blowing up gaps and trying to get negative runs. They believe that they're going to hit the quarterback enough times that you're not going to throw it deep. So, we have got to do what we do best, which is to try and scheme a few things and try to squirt a few runs and hurt them when they're trying to be disruptive. We'll probably get blown up every once in a while. That happens. In the past we've just had too many of those negative plays and got discouraged. We've got to be patient and keep working it."
On Matt Baker:
"Every one of the players that has had any past history with Matt, the Derrele Mitchells the Mike Masons, the Jesse Holleys, the whole offensive line, those guys have a tremendous amount of confidence in Matt Baker. Ronnie McGilll has a tremendous amount of confidence in Matt Baker. The first guy I saw after I heard Ronnie got hurt was Matt Baker and his bottom lip was on the ground. He was so upset about Ronnie being injured. That's the way Matt Baker is. They rally around Matt Baker. But, Matt Baker gives it back. He rallies around them when their rallying around him. It's a really good situation. We've got guys that have been out there in lots of different battles and they know that we always have a chance to win. I think everybody believes in Matt. His ability to throw the ball on the money is no surprise. As I said earlier this year, by season's end he might be the best quarterback in the ACC."
On Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil:
"He plays with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and energy. They list him at six foot tall 251 pounds, but he plays like NFL defensive ends do as far as his get-off. He's very disruptive. Their two inside players are very stout. These edge players, though, are guys that can really create some problems for the offensive front. They've got to know where they are at, they've got to know whether to move inside or outside. Once again, their defense is just an organized mayhem. It drives you nuts."
