University of North Carolina Athletics
Five With Fedora: Duke
November 13, 2018 | Football
By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com
1. After the game you mentioned how losing this game, with what's at stake in the rivalry, is painful for the players. What's it like for you as a coach?
"It hurts. It hurts badly too. Rivalry games involve more emotion and more intensity than a typical game. You feel it that week, and honestly you feel it 365 days a year because that's what makes rivalries unique. This one in particular is that way because you're talking about two schools that are right down the road from each other. So you hear about it everywhere you go around town and in the area. When this becomes your home it makes it hurt even more and that pain is real. The University of North Carolina is home for us. I'm a Tar Heel. My blood is blue. I can't stand losing this game. I hate it for the players. I hate it for our fans. I hate it."
2. This game looked like a boxing match in the beginning with the scoring going back and forth. What changed in the middle where they took the upper hand?
"You're right. In the first half we answered them and we were doing a good job moving the chains. When we were moving the chains, we were finding opportunities to break free and get in the end zone. In the second half, we scored once and they scored once. Our issue was having critical penalties that stalled some of our momentum. We had chances that we let slip away, plays that were there to hit on and we didn't make it happen. That's what hurt us in the third quarter. That put us behind by two scores in the fourth quarter, which forced us to change our mindset and how we were approaching what we had to do on offense. I thought our defense gave us plenty of opportunities in the second half but we didn't capitalize on those opportunities."
3. As you put the game plan together for this game, did you feel like you would be able to run the ball the way you did?
"Yes. We went in with the plan to be committed to running the football against them. I thought our guys did a great job of that in the first half. If you go back and watch we used a variety of run concepts with different guys to attack their defense and we were successful in the first half with that plan. Then, in the third quarter, we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. We got ourselves behind the chains and that forced us to change what we were doing at that point. As I mentioned earlier, we got behind by two scores and that forced us to approach the rest of the game differently. We had to start looking at the time left and figure out how many possessions we would get in that time. So we had to start mixing it up more. We came close but didn't make some of the plays that were there for us to make to win the game in the end."
4. Javonte Williams, a true freshman, scored the first touchdown of his career in this game. How would you describe what it's like for you as a coach when you see a young kid have success?
"Well, like you said, Javonte is a true freshman. When you look back at the last 12 months for Javonte, it's pretty remarkable. A year ago he was leading his high school team to a state championship. Soon after, he committed and signed with us, and a month later he was enrolled here and starting his college career. He went through his first spring practice season and then his first fall camp. Everything was going great and he was already making an impact on our team in every game. Then Hurricane Florence hit. Javonte's hometown was one of the places that was hardest hit by the storm and the flooding that came with it. It was devastating stuff for anybody to handle, let alone a teenager who's away from home and couldn't be there to help his family. But he has a strong family and we all pitched in to try and help those communities. So he's had quite a freshman year. He's worked so hard on and off the field for this team. It was awesome to see a kid like him score his first career touchdown in a rivalry game. To see that look on his face is just a great feeling. Those are special moments. And I can promise you this; it's the first of many touchdowns that Javonte will score in a Tar Heel uniform."
5. You've mentioned the last few weeks that you sleep well knowing this team has the will and the drive to keep fighting. After this game, many of the leaders echoed a lot of what you've been saying with regards to those qualities. How does it feel to hear those players saying what you're saying?
"Is it great to hear? Of course, because I don't get to hear what the players say after games because I'm busy with the media as well. But I'm not surprised by what you're telling me they said. It just confirms to those outside of our building what we all feel inside of our building. I've said the soul of our team starts with our leaders. Those are the guys that were probably saying the things you heard after the game. They don't have to prove anything to me. They have proved to me every single day since January what they're made of. They're saying those things because they believe in their teammates and they believe in what we're doing. They believe they have the power in that locker room to turn the corner. I truly believe that as well and I believe in that locker room."
1. After the game you mentioned how losing this game, with what's at stake in the rivalry, is painful for the players. What's it like for you as a coach?
"It hurts. It hurts badly too. Rivalry games involve more emotion and more intensity than a typical game. You feel it that week, and honestly you feel it 365 days a year because that's what makes rivalries unique. This one in particular is that way because you're talking about two schools that are right down the road from each other. So you hear about it everywhere you go around town and in the area. When this becomes your home it makes it hurt even more and that pain is real. The University of North Carolina is home for us. I'm a Tar Heel. My blood is blue. I can't stand losing this game. I hate it for the players. I hate it for our fans. I hate it."
2. This game looked like a boxing match in the beginning with the scoring going back and forth. What changed in the middle where they took the upper hand?
"You're right. In the first half we answered them and we were doing a good job moving the chains. When we were moving the chains, we were finding opportunities to break free and get in the end zone. In the second half, we scored once and they scored once. Our issue was having critical penalties that stalled some of our momentum. We had chances that we let slip away, plays that were there to hit on and we didn't make it happen. That's what hurt us in the third quarter. That put us behind by two scores in the fourth quarter, which forced us to change our mindset and how we were approaching what we had to do on offense. I thought our defense gave us plenty of opportunities in the second half but we didn't capitalize on those opportunities."
3. As you put the game plan together for this game, did you feel like you would be able to run the ball the way you did?
"Yes. We went in with the plan to be committed to running the football against them. I thought our guys did a great job of that in the first half. If you go back and watch we used a variety of run concepts with different guys to attack their defense and we were successful in the first half with that plan. Then, in the third quarter, we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. We got ourselves behind the chains and that forced us to change what we were doing at that point. As I mentioned earlier, we got behind by two scores and that forced us to approach the rest of the game differently. We had to start looking at the time left and figure out how many possessions we would get in that time. So we had to start mixing it up more. We came close but didn't make some of the plays that were there for us to make to win the game in the end."
4. Javonte Williams, a true freshman, scored the first touchdown of his career in this game. How would you describe what it's like for you as a coach when you see a young kid have success?
"Well, like you said, Javonte is a true freshman. When you look back at the last 12 months for Javonte, it's pretty remarkable. A year ago he was leading his high school team to a state championship. Soon after, he committed and signed with us, and a month later he was enrolled here and starting his college career. He went through his first spring practice season and then his first fall camp. Everything was going great and he was already making an impact on our team in every game. Then Hurricane Florence hit. Javonte's hometown was one of the places that was hardest hit by the storm and the flooding that came with it. It was devastating stuff for anybody to handle, let alone a teenager who's away from home and couldn't be there to help his family. But he has a strong family and we all pitched in to try and help those communities. So he's had quite a freshman year. He's worked so hard on and off the field for this team. It was awesome to see a kid like him score his first career touchdown in a rivalry game. To see that look on his face is just a great feeling. Those are special moments. And I can promise you this; it's the first of many touchdowns that Javonte will score in a Tar Heel uniform."
5. You've mentioned the last few weeks that you sleep well knowing this team has the will and the drive to keep fighting. After this game, many of the leaders echoed a lot of what you've been saying with regards to those qualities. How does it feel to hear those players saying what you're saying?
"Is it great to hear? Of course, because I don't get to hear what the players say after games because I'm busy with the media as well. But I'm not surprised by what you're telling me they said. It just confirms to those outside of our building what we all feel inside of our building. I've said the soul of our team starts with our leaders. Those are the guys that were probably saying the things you heard after the game. They don't have to prove anything to me. They have proved to me every single day since January what they're made of. They're saying those things because they believe in their teammates and they believe in what we're doing. They believe they have the power in that locker room to turn the corner. I truly believe that as well and I believe in that locker room."
Players Mentioned
Running Back
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