University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Player Quotes
November 17, 2007 | Football
Nov. 17, 2007
By Lauren Brownlow
What went wrong at the end when you couldn't convert?
Things just didn't go the way at the end of the game that we expected it to. (There were) a few mental errors (and) we could have run the ball a little bit better down there inside of the 20, but things just happen that way.
Does the possibility of becoming Carolina's first 1,000-yard receiver drive you?
Yeah, but at the same time I still want to focus on contributing to the team in the best ways possible. All that to me is great and all, but the `W' is what comes first to me. But I would love to be the first 1,000-yard receiver. But if it doesn't turn out that way, I've always got next season and I've just got to keep working at it.
What does the offense need to do to be more successful?
Be more consistent, make big plays more than every once in awhile. That just comes from practice. We've got a young team. We just want to finish strong. We've got one more game next week, Duke. We can finish strong and carry that over to next season.
On Greg Little's play:
He brought a very strong running game, (he's) a very strong freshmen. He contributed to the team very well and my hat goes off to him. This whole week, he was practicing as our starting running back. They kind of wanted to see what he could do. He's an athlete, receiver/running back. He's a pretty good athlete.
On the close games wearing on the team's emotions:
We don't like to get down on ourselves, but at the same time, we know what we have to do. There are certain things in certain areas that we need to improve in, and during the off-season we need to get that done. We've just got to learn how to put it all together and be more consistent. Once we get more consistent at what we do, the outcome will be a whole lot better.
When did you find out that you would be starting at running back?
I just stepped in at running back this week and I just had to learn all the protections. They just told me to get the ball and run as hard as I can.
How comfortable do you feel with the blitz pick-ups?
I think I did pretty well today. I didn't give up any sacks. I picked up every block that I had to pick up and I think I did pretty well today.
On playing running back vs. wide receiver:
You get the ball directly in your hands and you just have to get it and go. You just have to run as hard as you possibly can because there are guys that are running after you for your neck and you have to go. So I think I did pretty well.
How much of an adjustment was it for you to learn the different blocking?
It wasn't that much of an adjustment. I just put in hard work and over time after practice, coming after with Coach Browning and staying some with Coach Shoop. I think I made that transition today pretty well.
Did it feel good to get that many more touches?
It was definitely a challenge getting that many touches, because at running back you do get banged up a little bit more than you do (at) receiver. It was a heavy load to carry but I think that I did pretty well. I just like to get the ball, wherever it may be.
It doesn't really matter to me as long as the ball is in my hand.
How frustrating are the red-zone problems?
Oh, man. You've just to look yourself in the mirror on that. Down there, it's all about who wants it more. I think I had four touches in the red zone and I'm a guy that likes to put the blame on my shoulders. I feel like if I would have gotten those two touchdowns that we had in the red zone that we could have come out with that win. It's just about who wants it more. It's just a guts race at that point. You can spend more time on it (in practice), but it's about who's going to get that extra push to get in the end zone.
On the emotional effect of the close losses:
They say that we're a young team, but I look at it as there are not any freshmen on this team anymore. We've got enough experience that we can play with any person on this team. It's about who wants it more, that's all it is.
On the 63-yard blocked field goal:
I would have loved to have seen the outcome of that one, because it might have been in. It's tough because they had that guy out there, he's 6-7 and he probably jumps 38 inches. I don't know how high he jumped for that one, but it looks like he got up there pretty good. He just barely got those fingers on it and it still went to the ten-yard line. You've just got to get your hats off. They successfully did their PAT/field goal block well and blocked my field goal. Then (Georgia Tech placekicker) Travis Bell came back from one he missed and I've just got to give a lot of credit to him for keeping his composure and being strong mentally and just going out there and making one.
What was going through your mind attempting an almost NFL record-length field goal?
It's fun. That kind of kick, you're just like, `Hey, go out there and kick the ball.' There is no thinking about that. It's on the brink of my range and it's iffy, but I went out there and I hit that ball really good. If that jumper would have been right or left just a little bit, he wouldn't have touched it. I would have loved to have seen that outcome, because that might have just squeaked over the crossbars, so that would have been fun.
On improving his kickoff distance:
That's one thing I've been trying to work on this year is my kickoffs. Having to kick off the 30, it's five yards difference. I feel like I've gotten a lot better. They're still taking them out 7 yards deep, so I've got to put the dang thing out of the end zone. I feel great about being able to get better with those kickoffs. That's something I've been really trying to work on and I'm really excited about how it's working out. I think I'm averaging to the 2-yard line or 3-yard line this year, which is pretty good.
On the dueling punters:
They've got two good punters - he (Georgia Tech's Durant Brooks) is a good punter too, and our guy, Terrence (Brown). Field position is huge. That's what Coach Davis always talks about is how on special teams, every kick, every play is at least 40 yards. That's a big momentum change. Kickoff is 70 yards and field goal, same thing. It's just a battle of field position and I think both punters punted well. Terrence did what he was supposed to do today. They told him to kick it out of bounds and away from the returners, and he did what he was supposed to do so you can't take anything away from that. He had a hell of a game because he barely let that returner catch any balls. Every one of them was either right on the numbers or outside the numbers or even out of bounds. So he did a really good job today. Durant Brooks, he's got a good leg. He boomed a couple. So he definitely played a big part in that, because that one 77-yard punt really put us down deep in our own end. So you've got to give hats off to him. He had a great game, too.
