University of North Carolina Athletics
Countdown to Kickoff: A Good Catch
August 19, 2005 | Football
Aug. 19, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Right now Dave Brock could use a little coachspeak.
Carolina's new wide receivers coach is the subject of a post-practice media grilling, and the pen-and-pad brigade want his latest assessment of his charges. Best hands? Best speed? Best route-runner?
This is the time when coaches usually break out some of the same tried-and-true lines they've used for countless past interviews. They find a way to work in the names of everyone on the roster, talking a lot without really saying anything.
That's not what Dave Brock does.
"To be honest, I don't know," he says. "I want to see them in more competitive situations before I give you an answer. Everyone has had a good day so far and everyone has had a bad day. I'm going to reserve my judgment on that one."
He pauses, then considers that his dodging of the question might have been considered impolite.
"I really do want to answer that," he says. "Just give me a few more days."
That's the kind of direct, no-nonsense approach Tar Heel receivers have learned to expect from Brock. He's not a particularly loud presence on the practice field, instead preferring to make many of his points in plain, conversational tones. It helps that he's been handed one of the deepest position groups on the team, with six legitimate contributors--Mike Mason, Wallace Wright, Jesse Holley, Jarwarski Pollock, Derrele Mitchell, and Del Roberts--already established plus Brooks Foster turning some heads during the first week of camp. But he's not ready to pass judgment on any of them yet, as spring practice saw him have to patch together his group. Pollock suffered broken ribs early in spring ball and Holley and Foster spent time going back and forth from football to basketball.
Brock was hired February 15 and immediately began getting acquainted with his new personnel and with an unfamiliar area of the country. The former was a little easier than the latter, as he requested a video of every catch made in 2004 by every returning receiver.
But the New Jersey native, who has spent his entire coaching career--including stops at Salisbury State, Western Connecticut State, Hofstra, and Temple--also had to get familiar with Chapel Hill.
"I had zero background with Carolina football," he says. "Prior to this spring I had been here one time. I came for about two days in 1996 to watch Greg Davis install their offense during spring practice. That was before the Kenan Football Center was built, so things looked a lot different."
John Bunting has tried to take advantage of Brock's ties to the northeast by handing him the recruiting responsibilities for northern New Jersey. Brock, who was Temple's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons--last season the Owls ranked third in the Big East in passing offense and passed for 2,428 yards, the fourth-most in school history--also has the recruiting responsibility for Charlotte, where the Tar Heels hope to maintain a foothold in their continued emphasis on controlling North Carolina-produced talent.
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Countdown to Kickoff: 22 Days
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It hasn't taken Brock long to learn how to sell his adopted new home on the recruiting trail.
"I came in at a great time as far as recruiting goes," he says. "This is a great sell. We've got world-class academics, an unbelievable campus, great weather, ACC football, we're coming off a bowl game and the program is back on track."
Part of that program is an offensive coaching staff that features three coaches who have been offensive coordinators during their careers. Gary Tranquill has coached virtually everywhere in football, Hal Hunter directed some prolific offenses at Indiana, and Brock has his Temple success on his resume.
The last time Brock was in Chapel Hill, he learned from Greg Davis. He spent the spring and summer trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible from Tranquill, who rarely goes on vacation and proved to be a valuable resource.
"It has been a great learning experience to be around him," Brock says. "I like to watch how he attacks things and why he does it that way. I haven't been around a ton of two-back offenses, so I needed to learn more about that. Hal and Andre (Powell) do a great job, and when we move the ball on the ground a little bit that's going to open up the passing game. I'm looking forward to that."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
