University of North Carolina Athletics
Sun Bowl Notebook: Texas Ties Run Deep
December 28, 2016 | Football
EL PASO --- Carolina's third day in El Paso featured a visit to Fort Bliss, a 1,700-square mile Army installation that is the second-largest such post in the United States. Players had a chance to spend the afternoon with the servicemen and servicewomen of Fort Bliss and experience a number of unique aspects of military life.
Thank you @HyundaiSunBowl for an unforgettable experience at Fort Bliss yesterday!🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/OjIzoX5ITj
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) December 28, 2016
The outing concluded with a joint dinner with members of the Stanford football program and a show from famed hypnotist Doug MacCraw.
Game preparation resumes Wednesday with another practice at the SISD SAC facility. Coordinators Chris Kapilovic and Gene Chizik met with the media prior to practice to give some insight into their preparation for the Cardinal. Click here for links to their comments.
Senior center Lucas Crowley is preparing for his last game as a Tar Heel, and he was featured in the Ponte Vedra paper. The El Paso Times has a number of features leading up to the game, including these on Malik Carney, Andre Smith and Donnie Miles, and Ryan Switzer.
TEXAS TIES FOR THE TAR HEELS
The Sun Bowl is the third different bowl game Carolina has played in the state of Texas. The Tar Heels have played in four Sun Bowls (1972, 1974, 1982, 1994), the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston vs. Texas in 1982 and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas vs. Rice in 1950. UNC is 3-3 in bowl games in Texas.
North Carolina is 7-6 all-time in games played in Texas. The Tar Heels most recent visit to the Lone Star State was a loss at Texas in 2001.
North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora is a native of College Station, Texas. He is a 1985 graduate of Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he also received his master's degree in 1986. He was a wide receiver at Austin from 1981-84 and played on the 1981 Kangaroo squad that won the NAIA championship. He earned academic All-America honors in 1983, and was honorable mention All-America in both 1983 and 1984.
Fedora spent his first 11 years as a coach in Texas. He began as a graduate assistant at Austin in 1986. He then served as an assistant coach at Garland High School from 1987-90. Fedora returned to the collegiate ranks in 1991, serving as the tight ends, wide receivers and running backs coach at Baylor, where he stayed until 1996.
As head coach at Southern Miss, Fedora led the Golden Eagles to a 31-13 win at UTEP in Sun Bowl Stadium in 2011.
Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Texas under Mack Brown when the Longhorns captured the 2005 national championship. He also spent six seasons at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas, from 1992-97, overseeing the linebackers (1992-94) and secondary (1995-97).
Head strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez is a native of Alice, Texas, and he earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science from the University of Houston in 1992 and his master's degree in exercise and health-related fitness in 1994. Hernandez spent 10 years as a strength coach at Houston, including five years as the director of the program.
Running back coach and special teams coordinator Larry Porter coached one season at Texas in 2013.
Tight ends coach Chad Scott was the running backs coach at Texas Tech from 2010-12.
Quarterback Nathan Elliott, who is listed second on the depth chart, is a native of Celina, Texas.
