University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: MICHAEL J. OKONIEWSKI
GoHeels Exclusive: Weekly Press Conference Notes
October 23, 2018 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Coming off Saturday's 40-37 double-overtime loss at Syracuse, Larry Fedora met with reporters Monday for his weekly press conference at the Kenan Football Center.
Here are five notes from the press conference, leading up to Saturday's 12:20 p.m. game at Virginia:
Keeping morale high
After suffering a 22-19 loss against Virginia Tech on Oct. 13, the Tar Heels lost by three points for the second straight game Saturday. The last time they lost back-to-back games by three points or fewer in consecutive weeks was in 2007, when they fell 34-31 at East Carolina and 22-20 against Virginia.
Still, amid such adversity, Fedora said he isn't concerned about his team's focus.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't sit around and worry about whether our guys are going to fight and scratch and claw all the way through every single game," Fedora said. "I don't worry about that. We've got really good leadership on this football team and our leadership handles the team morale. They handle those things.Â
"What we do is put together a game plan that we hope can put our guys in a position to win and our guys are going to be ready to play. Mentally, they're going to be ready to play and they're going to play hard. I don't think there was any question about their effort on Saturday night and they're going to continue to do that. I feel very comfortable about that."
Elliott under center
UNC ran a few plays with Nathan Elliott under center Saturday, the first being a successful quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 during the opening drive. Dazz Newsome scored a touchdown four plays later.
Carolina has rarely gone under center in Fedora's tenure, so he was asked Monday if Saturday's decisions to go under were because of Elliott's skills or a change in philosophy.
"Any of our quarterbacks can go under center, so it's not really just a skill set for Nathan," Fedora said. "I wouldn't say it's a tweak in my philosophy. It's a game plan. We see something there that we feel like we can take advantage of, so game plan-wise, we do that. If we do it, we're doing it for a purpose.Â
"It's not a tweak in my philosophy because I don't know how many times I've gone under center since I've been here."
Newsome garners weekly honor
After returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown Saturday – marking the first punt return touchdown by a Tar Heel since Ryan Switzer's 78-yarder against Miami on Nov. 14, 2015 – Newsome was named the ACC Specialist of the Week for Week 8.Â
Newsome also made a career-high seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. According to College Football Reference, he became the fifth UNC player since 2000 to return a punt for a touchdown and catch a touchdown in the same game, joining Bosley Allen, Giovani Bernard, Switzer and Brandon Tate.
"Dazz had a heck of a game," Fedora said. "The times we got the ball in his hands, he made plays. We're always looking for ways to get him the ball. It's not going to be that the whole game plan is going to be based around tossing him the ball on the perimeter. But I think that part of why he had the success was when we utilized him."
Fedora was later asked if Newsome is being similarly used to how Switzer was.
"In a way, yes. That's good you brought it up like that because he's obviously a major threat as a punt returner," Fedora said. "I just told him yesterday, 'You're not going to get a whole lot of those opportunities in the future because people aren't going to do it. So you have to find other ways to make an impact.'Â
"He's getting better as a receiver. He's really growing in that role, just as (Switzer) did. But Dazz is doing it probably a little bit early."
Strowbridge's strides
Among the defensive players who stood out Saturday was Jason Strowbridge, who finished with two tackles, including a sack. He also had two sacks against Virginia Tech, giving him sacks in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Strowbridge enrolled at UNC as a defensive end in 2015. But he gradually shifted to defensive tackle, where he's excelled this season.
"He still has all the quickness and everything he needs," Fedora said. "He's strong, he's durable and he's made a lot of plays for us. … We've done that with quite a few guys who have come in and grown them into three-techniques. He's a guy who it just happened naturally for as he got here and he got bigger and stronger. We moved him inside, and he still has that quick step. So I think it's an advantage."
'Hard-nosed, physical football'
Virginia is 5-2 overall and 3-1 in ACC play after winning 28-14 at Duke on Saturday. The Cavaliers sit in second place in the Coastal Division, a half-game behind Virginia Tech.
Much of Virginia's success has come on defense. The unit is tied for 19th nationally in scoring defense (18.4 points allowed per game) and ranks 24th in total defense (326 yards allowed per game).
"Bronco (Mendenhall) has done a really good job," Fedora said. "His guys are playing really well defensively, and I know it's his defense and what he does defensively that creates an issue for teams. He's done a good job and they have done a good job.Â
"On offense, they've got the big quarterback (Bryce Perkins) who likes to run the football and the receiver, No. 4 (Olamide Zaccheaus), who they're getting the ball to in a lot of different ways. They're playing hard-nosed, physical football."
Coming off Saturday's 40-37 double-overtime loss at Syracuse, Larry Fedora met with reporters Monday for his weekly press conference at the Kenan Football Center.
Here are five notes from the press conference, leading up to Saturday's 12:20 p.m. game at Virginia:
Keeping morale high
After suffering a 22-19 loss against Virginia Tech on Oct. 13, the Tar Heels lost by three points for the second straight game Saturday. The last time they lost back-to-back games by three points or fewer in consecutive weeks was in 2007, when they fell 34-31 at East Carolina and 22-20 against Virginia.
Still, amid such adversity, Fedora said he isn't concerned about his team's focus.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't sit around and worry about whether our guys are going to fight and scratch and claw all the way through every single game," Fedora said. "I don't worry about that. We've got really good leadership on this football team and our leadership handles the team morale. They handle those things.Â
"What we do is put together a game plan that we hope can put our guys in a position to win and our guys are going to be ready to play. Mentally, they're going to be ready to play and they're going to play hard. I don't think there was any question about their effort on Saturday night and they're going to continue to do that. I feel very comfortable about that."
Elliott under center
UNC ran a few plays with Nathan Elliott under center Saturday, the first being a successful quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 during the opening drive. Dazz Newsome scored a touchdown four plays later.
Carolina has rarely gone under center in Fedora's tenure, so he was asked Monday if Saturday's decisions to go under were because of Elliott's skills or a change in philosophy.
"Any of our quarterbacks can go under center, so it's not really just a skill set for Nathan," Fedora said. "I wouldn't say it's a tweak in my philosophy. It's a game plan. We see something there that we feel like we can take advantage of, so game plan-wise, we do that. If we do it, we're doing it for a purpose.Â
"It's not a tweak in my philosophy because I don't know how many times I've gone under center since I've been here."
Newsome garners weekly honor
After returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown Saturday – marking the first punt return touchdown by a Tar Heel since Ryan Switzer's 78-yarder against Miami on Nov. 14, 2015 – Newsome was named the ACC Specialist of the Week for Week 8.Â
Newsome also made a career-high seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. According to College Football Reference, he became the fifth UNC player since 2000 to return a punt for a touchdown and catch a touchdown in the same game, joining Bosley Allen, Giovani Bernard, Switzer and Brandon Tate.
"Dazz had a heck of a game," Fedora said. "The times we got the ball in his hands, he made plays. We're always looking for ways to get him the ball. It's not going to be that the whole game plan is going to be based around tossing him the ball on the perimeter. But I think that part of why he had the success was when we utilized him."
Fedora was later asked if Newsome is being similarly used to how Switzer was.
"In a way, yes. That's good you brought it up like that because he's obviously a major threat as a punt returner," Fedora said. "I just told him yesterday, 'You're not going to get a whole lot of those opportunities in the future because people aren't going to do it. So you have to find other ways to make an impact.'Â
"He's getting better as a receiver. He's really growing in that role, just as (Switzer) did. But Dazz is doing it probably a little bit early."
Strowbridge's strides
Among the defensive players who stood out Saturday was Jason Strowbridge, who finished with two tackles, including a sack. He also had two sacks against Virginia Tech, giving him sacks in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Strowbridge enrolled at UNC as a defensive end in 2015. But he gradually shifted to defensive tackle, where he's excelled this season.
"He still has all the quickness and everything he needs," Fedora said. "He's strong, he's durable and he's made a lot of plays for us. … We've done that with quite a few guys who have come in and grown them into three-techniques. He's a guy who it just happened naturally for as he got here and he got bigger and stronger. We moved him inside, and he still has that quick step. So I think it's an advantage."
'Hard-nosed, physical football'
Virginia is 5-2 overall and 3-1 in ACC play after winning 28-14 at Duke on Saturday. The Cavaliers sit in second place in the Coastal Division, a half-game behind Virginia Tech.
Much of Virginia's success has come on defense. The unit is tied for 19th nationally in scoring defense (18.4 points allowed per game) and ranks 24th in total defense (326 yards allowed per game).
"Bronco (Mendenhall) has done a really good job," Fedora said. "His guys are playing really well defensively, and I know it's his defense and what he does defensively that creates an issue for teams. He's done a good job and they have done a good job.Â
"On offense, they've got the big quarterback (Bryce Perkins) who likes to run the football and the receiver, No. 4 (Olamide Zaccheaus), who they're getting the ball to in a lot of different ways. They're playing hard-nosed, physical football."
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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Wide Receiver
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Defensive Line
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