University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Monday Musings
December 9, 2013 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
Larry Fedora spoke via teleconference this morning, his first opportunity to speak to the media since the announcement that Carolina will play Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl on December 28 in Charlotte. “I am extremely excited as we prepare for our first bowl here at UNC,” Fedora said. “I'm excited for our seniors, who have overcome a lot of adversity in the four or five years that they've been here and excited for our team. They've fought back from a 1-5 record early in the year. We are also extremely excited about being in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte where we have quite a few Tar Heel fans in that area. We're looking forward to playing Cincinnati, a very well-coached team that finished the season 9-3.”
The Tar Heel coaching staff will have maneuver around several factors during bowl preparation. First and foremost, the Tar Heel student-athletes are taking final exams this week. Secondly, much of the coaching staff is on the road recruiting for upcoming recruiting classes. Finally, Christmas holidays and travel will impact the bowl prep schedule. The Tar Heels practiced on Sunday and expect to resume over the weekend when exams are completed. “I'm thinking that we're probably going to get somewhere between ten and twelve practices in preparation,” Fedora said. The month of December is a crucial time for recruiting, as high school players are winding down their seasons and football coaches are on the road for much of the time between Thanksgiving and bowl practice.
The extra practices afforded bowl teams serve more than one purpose. In addition to preparing for the Bearcats, Carolina has more valuable rehearsal time for young players that can contribute in the future. These precious practices are a tremendous resource for a group that will re-convene in the spring. Fedora said the players down the depth chart will get a lot of reps, especially early, before attention turns to Cincinnati and installing the game plan.
The Belk Bowl's location - Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte - is a boon to Fedora and the Tar Heel program. The coach is well aware of both the outstanding Carolina alumni base in the Queen City and the area's recruiting pipeline. The Tar Heels held a spring scrimmage at Mallard Creek High School (which produced Marquise Williams and Brian Walker) and have two early 2014 enrollees, Elijah Hood and Bentley Spain, headed to Chapel Hill from Charlotte next month. The state's largest city has been good to Carolina football: in addition to Williams and Walker, current Tar Heels from Charlotte include Desmond Lawrence, Kedrick Davis, Tommy Hibbard and Terrance Knox, with Norkeithus Otis (Gastonia) and A.J. Blue (Dallas) playing not too far from home on the 28th as well. “To be able to have such a great presence in that area for a full week getting ready for a bowl will be really good,” Fedora said.
So, Carolina will play in a Charlotte bowl game for the fourth time in the program's history on December 28. The Tar Heels are 0-3 in Charlotte (2004, 2008, 2009) and have a tough task ahead of them in Cincinnati. Still, Fedora's team concentrated on going 1-0 from one week to the next during the season, and they'll try to do that again three days after Christmas. Given the turmoil around the program over the last three years, one has to think the team is going to take full advantage of the opportunity for a 13th game, particularly the Tar Heel seniors. “These guys have overcome a lot,” Fedora said. “They came in at the beginning of an NCAA investigation and saw it through to the end, and then had to accept the sanctions against them, and then had three head coaches, they had two staffs. So, some of these guys had five or six position coaches in their career here so a pretty unique group so very proud of the way that they held this team together when we were 1-5, and I think they're very appreciative and I think they're really excited about the opportunity.”
