University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-William & Mary Postgame Quotes
October 30, 2010 | Football
Oct. 30, 2010
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North Carolina Coach Butch Davis
Opening Statement:
"Obviously it's good to win the game. Coming into this ballgame, our kids had respect for William & Mary. They are who they are and have the record they had and they are a very well-coached football team. I think that our football team also learned that they have to play well, they can't put the ball on the ground, can't make communication mistakes on kickoffs, and you have to execute a lot better than we did. We were fortunate enough to not dig too big of a hole and we put ourselves in a position to dig ourselves out.
"At halftime we talked about what it was going to take to win the football game. It was going to take all three phases, there wasn't going to be any margin for error. I think our offensive line showed up tonight and Johnny White ran the ball really well and gave us the play that we needed to flip not only the emotions but also the score."
On how this game typifies the season:
"I think that it would probably be a pretty good analogy. It's been a microcosm of a lot of things that have happened this year. As in the case of this football team, throughout the course of the year, they've showed a lot of resilience. Even though it looked ugly and at times we didn't play as well as we'd have liked, they kept fighting, kept competing. Later on, obviously, some good things started to happen."
On Michael Paulus's play:
"I thought he played very well. I had a chance to talk to him afterwards and told him he played extraordinarily well. He's done a remarkable job this year to help them win those games, and he played well tonight."
On any areas of improvement:
"We covered kickoffs very well for the second consecutive week. We thought we made some strides last week at Miami in coverage units. Defensively, we didn't play Quan Sturdivant. We thought about the possibility of playing him about 12 plays each half, but the way the game unfolded we were never able to get him into the game. "
North Carolina Player Quotes
On the defense in the second half
"We tightened up, we manned up, we woke up and we started playing."
On playing against a former teammate in William & Mary quarterback Michael Paulus "It was fun to see Mike out there. You know, I'm happy for him that he gets a chance to play and he played good against us."
"Anytime you win, whether it's William & Mary or its USC or Florida State, it doesn't matter - it's a win. That's the thing we got to go into every game looking at. No matter who the opponent is, we have to play the way we know how to play."
On changes in defense
"You have to know your opponent and how they play. Mike Paulus threw some great balls in the first half and you just have to give him credit for that."
On returning after missing the first seven games
"With that scenario, everybody makes mistakes and I can admit that we made a mistake coming into the season. I'm just thankful that God gave me a second chance to play football, and we are just going to build as a team and learn a lot later in life about that."
On having a career game
"It was just a great feeling. I just thank God that the O line just came together for us in the second half and really blocked their tails off for the tight ends and tailbacks and receivers."
On the team's mentality in the second half
"We just felt a sense of urgency that we just needed to get it together. I felt like in the second half we couldn't waste any possession because we just played a really good team, no matter if they are I-AA or whatever. They didn't really mess up or miss any picks or blow any coverages or anything, so we knew that we were going to come in and play a team that wouldn't beat themselves."
William & Mary Coach Jimmye Laycock
Opening Statement:
"First, I thought we had a great effort, we played very hard. It was a tough situation where we had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup and a lot of guys banged up and that type of thing. All that considered, I thought we gave it a really good effort. I thought Mike Paulus, stepping in there after [Mike] Callahan got hurt, played extremely, extremely well. I thought defensively we really competed, we made things happen and we lined up against them and they popped that one short yardage play and they got us, but other than that I feel like we really played well defensively. We're disappointed - we had a chance to win that thing going into the fourth quarter. It doesn't make it any easier, but again I don't think it takes anything away from our players' effort and their performance. I really think we made a lot of good efforts."
On how depth affects W&M when playing an FBS team:
"No question because when you play a I-A team, depth is always an issue. As we get through a season, it's even more of a problem for us when guys are banged up and out of the lineup. I think it hurt us in the fourth quarter tonight - I'm not making excuses, it's just a fact. It's an issue - not my preference to play a team like this late in the season, but it is what it is and everything considering, we had a chance to win that thing in the end."
