University of North Carolina Athletics
Frank Cignetti Q&A
February 1, 2006 | Football
Feb. 1, 2006
By Adam Lucas
The bookshelves are covered with playbooks and videotapes in Frank Cignetti's new office in the Kenan Football Center. When spring practice begins on March 3, he will have been on the job exactly two months. We caught up with him on signing day for a few quick questions about his new job.
TarHeelBlue.com: What's your life been like since you were hired?
Frank Cignetti: It's kind of like a pizza cut in slices. The first order of business was taking care of my family. I had to get our house ready to go up for sale and we have to get ready to move them out here. Football-wise, there was a recruiting end of it. Coach Bunting wanted me to get into certain homes to see certain kids and get into certain schools in certain areas. Here at the office, I had to meet with the assistant coaches on offense and we had to get familiar with each other. I also had to get to know as many players as possible. It's been a little bit of everything.
THB: When spring ball starts on March 3, what's the biggest hurdle to installing an offense?
FC: The biggest hurdle for everybody is getting familiar with the terminology. You have to refamiliarize yourself with the new terminology, because this profession does not have a universal language. It's not necessarily that the schemes are changing much, but what we're calling it might change a good deal. It's critical that we all speak the same language so we understand each other. If you're speaking Chinese and I'm speaking Spanish, we're not going to get anything done. That can happen in football, too.
THB: Does that mean there might be some rough spring sessions early on?
FC: I don't expect that, but I'm realistic. The main thing about spring is installing an offense. That means the players have to learn the offense and as coaches we have an evaluation tool of seeing what the players can do. After all, it's players, not plays. The key objective in the spring is evaluating performance but also teaching and learning the system. When we go out there on the field in the spring, we don't have a game to win. We have 15 practices to get better. The objective is to go from practice 1 to practice 2 and get better. Hopefully we cut down on our missed assignments and do well with the process.
THB: Who among these players signing today has a chance to play early?
FC: Everyone will get an opportunity. We're in the performance business. It's not a popularity contest. Ultimately we will take a look at everyone to see if they can help us immediately.
THB: What are the key things you look for when you're evaluating a quarterback?
FC: There are a couple qualities that I think are really important. The first is functional intelligence. I want a quarterback who can react and think, not just in the classroom but on the field. The game of football happens fast. A quarterback has to process a lot of information in a millisecond. What's the play, what's the snap count, what's my read...a lot of things and then he has to react to the defense. Whether it's in a school, home visit, or here at the office, I want to try to get a feel for their intelligence level. I'm not talking textbook intelligence. I want to know if they'll be able to think and react.
When I'm watching film, the most important thing to me is whether the quarterback completes the football. The bottom line in the passing game is you have to complete the football. It's not necessarily arm strength or size. It's thinking, reacting, and completing the football.
THB: No matter who wins the job, you're going to have an inexperienced quarterback out there against Rutgers. Does that make your job any easier or harder?
FC: The only thing making our job easier as coaches, truly, is when you have players that can really perform. I can't really answer that question right now. And to be honest, I won't find out on March 3. I'll find out probably sometime in August. It's a process. I remember my first practice at Fresno State. I walked into a similar situation to what we have here. David Carr, who I did not coach, had just left and was the first pick in the NFL Draft. We had two quarterbacks. Neither had played. The first spring practice we were 6-for-24 with five picks. Was I disappointed? No, because it's a process. There's a patience to it. But when that ball is kicked off against Rutgers, we've got to be ready. It's kind of like having a baby. That baby isn't going to walk for a while. And that baby won't be a man for a while. There's a maturity process to it.
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.
