University of North Carolina Athletics
Player Press Conference Quotes
September 3, 2007 | Football
Sept. 3, 2007
Player Press Conference Quotes
Wide Receiver Brooks Foster
On the upcoming game against ECU: "You know last week we had an advantage over JMU because there really wasn't any tape on us they could use. ECU will obviously have last week's tape and I think we will have to be more prepared to play."
On the emergence of his skills offensively: "I think after the first game last year, I had no catches prior to that game. So this year it kind of carried over into the other night."
On his first touchdown catch of the season being so wide open: "Sometimes the toughest balls to catch are the ones where you are wide open. So I just wanted to focus in on the catch and it was a great feeling to score."
On T.J. Yates performance after the first week: "I think he did a great job especially for his first game. He made some mistakes, but he moved on quickly. I think he is a great leader, he likes to joke around and have fun in the huddle, but he is ready to play too."
Quarterback T.J. Yates
On playing the teams first road game: "I love playing away games, it makes it that much better when you beat them. It helps bring the team together, with very little fans there it makes the team work harder to support each other."
On how he needs to improve his performance going into ECU: "I definitely can't make any turnovers, after last game I made some mistakes that I could have avoided. I have to go out there and be perfect, it is hard to do that, but that is what you have to try to do."
On the upcoming game against ECU: "We are going to try and go out and work as hard as we can this week. We will be watching film and studying hard, we watched a little of their game in the hotel on Saturday. They have a really good tough defense and they played Virginia Tech really hard."
On his performance last week: "You know after that first series, scoring a touchdown got my nerves down a little bit. The game got a little slower as it went on and I was able to settle in. Going out there and playing well against JMU gave me a lot of confidence. I have to stay focused and study hard watching film because you can always get better."
Linebacker Durell Mapp
On preparing the young players for their first road game: "Being a veteran player, I have been exposed to that a variety of times. You have to sit them down and tell them to try and not get too excited or overwhelmed by it."
On how tough the game will be against ECU: "You know it is always going to be tough going into your first road game and each game is important. It is going to be a crucial situation for our season."
On the progression of Deunta Williams at Safety: "He is a great athlete, he is really progressing as an athlete. He knows how to judge the ball and he knows how to go up high and get the ball. He is a great player and is going to be very good for us, but like I said as a whole defense we need to get better."
The biggest difference this year as opposed to years past: "The coaching staff teaches us how to be mentally aggressive. We have to be smart out there on the field, but we also have to be aggressive. This year we play with a more aggressive style of defense.
