University of North Carolina Athletics
Player Press Conference Quotes
August 25, 2008 | Football
Aug. 25, 2008
Senior Punter Terrence Brown
On not looking past McNeese State: "We know to take it one game at a time and it is not about our opponents, it is about us. We can beat ourselves and we can go out and beat anyone on any given day. We know to take it week to week and this week it is McNeese, so we are excited about playing our opponent."
On his off-season knee surgery: "I had my meniscus taken out because it was shredded over the years from kicking. It was not as serious as it sounds, only a four week recovery. It was a little sore getting back into it and a little swelling after kicking, but I am ready for game one."
On how the surgery has affected his punting: "After the four weeks when I began to kick, I started to overcompensate for the pain and change my mechanics a little bit. Over the course of camp kicking with our trainers it has improved a lot and there is no pain anymore."
Sophomore Running back Greg Little
On how comfortable you feel entering this season: "The game has slowed down a lot for me and I am almost starting to see things before they happen. I have learned the indicators of the defense to know when a blitz is coming or when their in man coverage, which allows you to play a lot faster."
On his personal expectations entering the season: "I feel like I have a lot of weight on my shoulders, but I feel like I am ready to carry that load. Coach Davis and Shoop trust me, so I can only fulfill what they have planned for me."
On the difference on entering the season this year compared to a year ago: "Guys are a lot looser in the way they play. We are just able to go out and play instead of thinking about our specific assignments. We are able to have a lot more fun and coaches are able to put a lot more plays in, which brings more excitement. I think we can throw down the field a lot more and blitz more, just do more things than we could not do a year ago."
On not looking past McNeese State: "I just try and think about our team only. Try to focus on ourselves and not look so hard into opponents. How we can improve each and everyday, what offense and defense can do to make our team better."
Senior Linebacker Mark Paschal
On the opening week of the season: "Whenever you get to the first week there is a lot of excitement, going to class is easier and coming to the football center is easier because you have something to look forward to. I think it is an exciting time; it is my last go around personally, so I think everyone is working very hard trying to get ready for Saturday. I think we are a lot further along than we were at this point last year. It takes time and it is not going to happen overnight, but I think we have taken the proper steps to be as prepared as possible for this opening game."
On the high expectations of this season: "I think that the expectations are great, but I do not think it means anything until we produce on the field. It gives a lot of us guys something to shoot for and try to achieve. The last few seasons being picked dead last is always frustrating, but as time has gone on things have improved. Now it is nice to have people pick us as one of the top couple teams in the conference. I think that is a responsibility for us to hopefully live up to those expectations."
On McNeese State's spread offense: "I really do not like playing against the spread a whole lot because it can cause a lot of problems on defense. We are working hard to bottle that up. It puts a lot of pressure on my position to make sure everybody is following their responsibilities', but we are excited to get into game week."
