Photo by: Grant Halverson
GoHeels Exclusive: Monday Notebook
October 28, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Coming off Saturday's emotional 20-17 win over Duke, North Carolina finds itself in a position it hasn't been in in a few years, preparing to play meaningful football in November.
As significant as that might be, both for players and fans, Mack Brown knows it's important that his team keeps pushing heading into Saturday's game against Virginia, which is tied with the Tar Heels atop the ACC Coastal Division standings.
"I told them yesterday, 'Whatever you're doing to prepare, you need to do a little more,'" Brown told reporters on Monday. "So, if you're spending an hour on video, spend some more. If you're a scout teamer, you need to show us the picture. Go watch Virginia, go watch the guy you're going to be and play and try to help us prepare for the game. I think that's part of our process of learning to win again.Â
"Especially with our early morning practice, the guys are off the field at 10 and they've got the rest of the day and night with some strength and conditioning, classes and study hall and such, but spend a little time with your coach. It has to be voluntary, but they can come up and ask for help and they can come up and see video. I think that's an area where we can do better. I think we can know our opponent better than we're doing right now. We're doing a good job, but I think we can do a better job."
Here are five more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
Bateman's call
After coming up with the game-winning interception against Duke, Chazz Surratt, Brown and other defensive players noted that Bateman told them during the preceding timeout to expect the pop-pass play that the Blue Devils ran. Bateman explained Monday why he said that.
"I think the advantage I had was, I've defended those guys — this is was my fifth year in a row," said Bateman, who was previously the defensive coordinator at Army. "So, I kind of have some carryover knowledge. But they beat us 13-(6) at Duke in 2016 and they beat me on a pop pass. So, when I saw the formation (before the timeout), I was pretty confident that's what we were getting."
Bateman said he and Myles Dorn – one of four players who was covering Duke tight end Noah Gray, the intended target on the pop pass – watched the play about 20 times Sunday.
"I watched it with Myles and said, 'Are you sure you would have caught this?'" Bateman said. "It was close. But it was a great play by Chazz."
Asked if most linebackers would catch that ball, Bateman said "probably not."
'Trying to win'
Javonte Williams' fumble inside the Blue Devils' 5-yard line gave Duke the chance to win the game with the pop-pass play. On Saturday, the running back – who finished with 111 rushing yards, marking the third time this season he's gone over 100 yards – said he couldn't watch as the Blue Devils drove 92 yards down the field.
Brown indicated that Williams was still disappointed by the fumble on Sunday.
"He comes to me and wants to apologize to the team," Brown said, "and I say, 'No, you gained 140 yards or something, you don't need to be apologizing to the team. What you need to do is hang on to the ball. And don't try too hard. Don't try to do something outside of what you need to do to win the game.'Â
"I think that game goes back to, in our players' minds, the Virginia Tech game last year, where we're going in to win it, we fumble, they're 97 yards away, they take it down the field. The difference is we made a play this time. We didn't make a play last year."
Asked about Brown saying Williams was trying too hard when he fumbled, Longo agreed.
"Javonte had a huge game," Longo said. "We were down there with an opportunity to win the game because of the way he played, because of the way a lot of the guys played. He brought one of his best games Saturday. And here he is at the end with an opportunity, he wants to put the exclamation point on a great night, right? And he leaves his feet at the 5-yard line and right around the 4, the 3, winds up fumbling the football. You hate to see a running back who's had such a great night finish his game that way. But he was, he was trying. …Â
"I said, 'Why did you jump?' He never jumps. He puts his feet on the ground and he runs people over. And I've never seen him jump with the exception of one run at Virginia Tech where there was an obstacle on the ground. He said, 'I'm trying to win. I was just trying to win.' And that's what he's trying to do."
Ruggles' response
After missing two field goals in overtime at Virginia Tech, Noah Ruggles was replaced by freshman walk-on Jonathan Kim as the team's placekicker entering the Duke game. But when Kim missed a 52-yarder against the Blue Devils, Brown turned to Ruggles, who made both of his field goal attempts in the second half.
Brown detailed Monday why he made the switch from Kim to Ruggles.
"It was a bad kick and it didn't look like a confident kick to me," said Brown of Kim's kick. "I thought, 'Let's try it. Let's go back. The change didn't work.' Jonathan, he kicked very well during practice. … I don't like missing field goals. If you're going to kick them, you need to make them – that's what I told them. 'It's your only job. Do your job and, if not, we're going to go for fourth downs.'"
Brown said he was proud of how Ruggles responded to being benched, both during Saturday's game and in the days leading up to it.
"He had a great week and he was focused," Brown said. "I told our team it's a great lesson for all of us. You get benched because you made a mistake at Virginia Tech and you don't pout, you don't get your head down. You go back to work. He seemed to have a real good drive and real good focus for the week. Then we tested them both in pregame like we always do. They both did well, they both made all their kicks and then after the first kick, I just said, 'We're not ready for this. Let's go back and do the other.'"
Getting healthy
UNC announced Monday that Trey Morrison, Jace Ruder and Myles Wolfolk have been cleared to return to practice and could play against Virginia, depending on how they practice this week. All three are listed on Carolina's depth chart.
Nick Polino isn't on the depth chart, but he has also been cleared to return to practice and has the chance to play this week.
"They've been running," Brown said. "Nick Polino has been running. I don't know where his status is. I think the biggest thing is you'll practice them and you see they're healthy enough to be back out there or they wouldn't let them come. So, that's been done. The doctors have said they can play. Now the question is, how functional will they be and how good will they be? Will they be worried about their ankle or their arm? That's what we'll have to see in practice this week going forward. But all three of them (Morrison, Ruder and Wolfolk) practiced yesterday. The offensive line didn't do as much.
"We'll practice them and just see how they do. We probably won't be able to make a decision until Thursday or Friday because, will they have soreness? Will they be nervous about planting or tackling? And we'll just have to see all that."
Bateman discussed what it would mean for the defense to have Wolfolk, who recorded 24 tackles and three interceptions in the first four games of the season.
"I think he's probably going to be really close this week," Bateman said. "He warmed up Saturday. I thought yesterday he looked pretty good. So, I think there will be a role for him this week. I think anytime you get a veteran back who has got the presence that Wolf's got, it helps you a ton. So, I anticipate him being back in some capacity this week."
When asked about Morrison, Bateman said "we're kind of hoping for Trey" to return against Virginia, adding that he thinks the staff is more confident about Wolfolk's chances of playing.
Polino has been sidelined since sustaining a lower-body injury in the second game of the season against Miami. In his absence, Brian Anderson has started at center and Joshua Ezeudu and Ed Montilus have split time at left guard. Longo was asked how Polino's return would affect the offensive line.
"If he looks fine and he doesn't look rusty and he's techniquing well and he's moving, I'm sure Stacy (Searels) will work him into the lineup," Longo said. "Tuesday will be our first time watching him really work out on a physical level. So, we'll know more probably after the end of the week. … Guard or center, wherever. We do need and we want depth at both positions. He has the ability to play both.Â
"So, I think, No. 1, we've got to see where he is. No. 2, he has been snapping, so it's not like he's taken four or five weeks off snapping; he's been doing that for a while now. So, it'll just be a matter of where do we think he can help us best."
In other injury news, Storm Duck, who suffered an upper-body injury in the first quarter against Duke, will be evaluated throughout this week.Â
Scouting Virginia
Virginia enters Saturday's game at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers are coming off a 28-21 loss at Louisville on Saturday, dropping their record to 1-3 on the road. But Brown said they're clearly "one of the more talented teams in our league."
"We'll have our hands full, but it will be a fun challenge for us and, again, kind of a rival game between Carolina and Virginia," Brown said. "So, it will be fun. It's fun to be in late October and the game means something. Our guys will be really excited about that and I think our fan base is, too."
Virginia is led by quarterback Bryce Perkins, who has thrown for 1,803 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while also running for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Against UNC last season, he completed 18-of-27 passes for 217 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 112 yards and a touchdown.
"He is a tremendous player," Bateman said. "Somebody asked me about him, I think after the game – I think it's a real discredit to the kid to talk about his running because he does run really well, but he can do everything. He can throw it. He knows where to go. He is not fooled in coverage. I think he's a tremendous football player. So, we have our hands full."
So does Carolina's offense. Virginia ranks 11th nationally in total defense (281.5 yards per game) and is tied for 27th in scoring defense (20.8 points per game).
"This is much like Clemson," Longo said. "They're much longer. This is a bigger defense that we're going to see here. They are rangier and longer up front, at the second level and in the secondary. So, it's going to feel a lot more like that game in terms of we're going to have to do a good job of refitting our hands up front on the O-line when they chop them off. We're going to have to do a good job of getting the hands of the DBs off us at receiver. That just adds another challenge. They're similar in that way.Â
"The two D-ends are really, really good. Linebackers are very good. They do a good job pursuing to the football. They are very, very multiple in coverage and so for Sam to trigger the ball quickly when we throw it, he's going to have to do a good job of ID'ing what they're doing. And our guys will have to do a good job of working into space when they zone it and creating separation when they man it. We have our hands full and our work cut out for us this week."
Coming off Saturday's emotional 20-17 win over Duke, North Carolina finds itself in a position it hasn't been in in a few years, preparing to play meaningful football in November.
As significant as that might be, both for players and fans, Mack Brown knows it's important that his team keeps pushing heading into Saturday's game against Virginia, which is tied with the Tar Heels atop the ACC Coastal Division standings.
"I told them yesterday, 'Whatever you're doing to prepare, you need to do a little more,'" Brown told reporters on Monday. "So, if you're spending an hour on video, spend some more. If you're a scout teamer, you need to show us the picture. Go watch Virginia, go watch the guy you're going to be and play and try to help us prepare for the game. I think that's part of our process of learning to win again.Â
"Especially with our early morning practice, the guys are off the field at 10 and they've got the rest of the day and night with some strength and conditioning, classes and study hall and such, but spend a little time with your coach. It has to be voluntary, but they can come up and ask for help and they can come up and see video. I think that's an area where we can do better. I think we can know our opponent better than we're doing right now. We're doing a good job, but I think we can do a better job."
Here are five more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
Bateman's call
After coming up with the game-winning interception against Duke, Chazz Surratt, Brown and other defensive players noted that Bateman told them during the preceding timeout to expect the pop-pass play that the Blue Devils ran. Bateman explained Monday why he said that.
"I think the advantage I had was, I've defended those guys — this is was my fifth year in a row," said Bateman, who was previously the defensive coordinator at Army. "So, I kind of have some carryover knowledge. But they beat us 13-(6) at Duke in 2016 and they beat me on a pop pass. So, when I saw the formation (before the timeout), I was pretty confident that's what we were getting."
Bateman said he and Myles Dorn – one of four players who was covering Duke tight end Noah Gray, the intended target on the pop pass – watched the play about 20 times Sunday.
"I watched it with Myles and said, 'Are you sure you would have caught this?'" Bateman said. "It was close. But it was a great play by Chazz."
Asked if most linebackers would catch that ball, Bateman said "probably not."
'Trying to win'
Javonte Williams' fumble inside the Blue Devils' 5-yard line gave Duke the chance to win the game with the pop-pass play. On Saturday, the running back – who finished with 111 rushing yards, marking the third time this season he's gone over 100 yards – said he couldn't watch as the Blue Devils drove 92 yards down the field.
Brown indicated that Williams was still disappointed by the fumble on Sunday.
"He comes to me and wants to apologize to the team," Brown said, "and I say, 'No, you gained 140 yards or something, you don't need to be apologizing to the team. What you need to do is hang on to the ball. And don't try too hard. Don't try to do something outside of what you need to do to win the game.'Â
"I think that game goes back to, in our players' minds, the Virginia Tech game last year, where we're going in to win it, we fumble, they're 97 yards away, they take it down the field. The difference is we made a play this time. We didn't make a play last year."
Asked about Brown saying Williams was trying too hard when he fumbled, Longo agreed.
"Javonte had a huge game," Longo said. "We were down there with an opportunity to win the game because of the way he played, because of the way a lot of the guys played. He brought one of his best games Saturday. And here he is at the end with an opportunity, he wants to put the exclamation point on a great night, right? And he leaves his feet at the 5-yard line and right around the 4, the 3, winds up fumbling the football. You hate to see a running back who's had such a great night finish his game that way. But he was, he was trying. …Â
"I said, 'Why did you jump?' He never jumps. He puts his feet on the ground and he runs people over. And I've never seen him jump with the exception of one run at Virginia Tech where there was an obstacle on the ground. He said, 'I'm trying to win. I was just trying to win.' And that's what he's trying to do."
Ruggles' response
After missing two field goals in overtime at Virginia Tech, Noah Ruggles was replaced by freshman walk-on Jonathan Kim as the team's placekicker entering the Duke game. But when Kim missed a 52-yarder against the Blue Devils, Brown turned to Ruggles, who made both of his field goal attempts in the second half.
Brown detailed Monday why he made the switch from Kim to Ruggles.
"It was a bad kick and it didn't look like a confident kick to me," said Brown of Kim's kick. "I thought, 'Let's try it. Let's go back. The change didn't work.' Jonathan, he kicked very well during practice. … I don't like missing field goals. If you're going to kick them, you need to make them – that's what I told them. 'It's your only job. Do your job and, if not, we're going to go for fourth downs.'"
Brown said he was proud of how Ruggles responded to being benched, both during Saturday's game and in the days leading up to it.
"He had a great week and he was focused," Brown said. "I told our team it's a great lesson for all of us. You get benched because you made a mistake at Virginia Tech and you don't pout, you don't get your head down. You go back to work. He seemed to have a real good drive and real good focus for the week. Then we tested them both in pregame like we always do. They both did well, they both made all their kicks and then after the first kick, I just said, 'We're not ready for this. Let's go back and do the other.'"
Getting healthy
UNC announced Monday that Trey Morrison, Jace Ruder and Myles Wolfolk have been cleared to return to practice and could play against Virginia, depending on how they practice this week. All three are listed on Carolina's depth chart.
Nick Polino isn't on the depth chart, but he has also been cleared to return to practice and has the chance to play this week.
"They've been running," Brown said. "Nick Polino has been running. I don't know where his status is. I think the biggest thing is you'll practice them and you see they're healthy enough to be back out there or they wouldn't let them come. So, that's been done. The doctors have said they can play. Now the question is, how functional will they be and how good will they be? Will they be worried about their ankle or their arm? That's what we'll have to see in practice this week going forward. But all three of them (Morrison, Ruder and Wolfolk) practiced yesterday. The offensive line didn't do as much.
"We'll practice them and just see how they do. We probably won't be able to make a decision until Thursday or Friday because, will they have soreness? Will they be nervous about planting or tackling? And we'll just have to see all that."
Bateman discussed what it would mean for the defense to have Wolfolk, who recorded 24 tackles and three interceptions in the first four games of the season.
"I think he's probably going to be really close this week," Bateman said. "He warmed up Saturday. I thought yesterday he looked pretty good. So, I think there will be a role for him this week. I think anytime you get a veteran back who has got the presence that Wolf's got, it helps you a ton. So, I anticipate him being back in some capacity this week."
When asked about Morrison, Bateman said "we're kind of hoping for Trey" to return against Virginia, adding that he thinks the staff is more confident about Wolfolk's chances of playing.
Polino has been sidelined since sustaining a lower-body injury in the second game of the season against Miami. In his absence, Brian Anderson has started at center and Joshua Ezeudu and Ed Montilus have split time at left guard. Longo was asked how Polino's return would affect the offensive line.
"If he looks fine and he doesn't look rusty and he's techniquing well and he's moving, I'm sure Stacy (Searels) will work him into the lineup," Longo said. "Tuesday will be our first time watching him really work out on a physical level. So, we'll know more probably after the end of the week. … Guard or center, wherever. We do need and we want depth at both positions. He has the ability to play both.Â
"So, I think, No. 1, we've got to see where he is. No. 2, he has been snapping, so it's not like he's taken four or five weeks off snapping; he's been doing that for a while now. So, it'll just be a matter of where do we think he can help us best."
In other injury news, Storm Duck, who suffered an upper-body injury in the first quarter against Duke, will be evaluated throughout this week.Â
Scouting Virginia
Virginia enters Saturday's game at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers are coming off a 28-21 loss at Louisville on Saturday, dropping their record to 1-3 on the road. But Brown said they're clearly "one of the more talented teams in our league."
"We'll have our hands full, but it will be a fun challenge for us and, again, kind of a rival game between Carolina and Virginia," Brown said. "So, it will be fun. It's fun to be in late October and the game means something. Our guys will be really excited about that and I think our fan base is, too."
Virginia is led by quarterback Bryce Perkins, who has thrown for 1,803 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while also running for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Against UNC last season, he completed 18-of-27 passes for 217 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 112 yards and a touchdown.
"He is a tremendous player," Bateman said. "Somebody asked me about him, I think after the game – I think it's a real discredit to the kid to talk about his running because he does run really well, but he can do everything. He can throw it. He knows where to go. He is not fooled in coverage. I think he's a tremendous football player. So, we have our hands full."
So does Carolina's offense. Virginia ranks 11th nationally in total defense (281.5 yards per game) and is tied for 27th in scoring defense (20.8 points per game).
"This is much like Clemson," Longo said. "They're much longer. This is a bigger defense that we're going to see here. They are rangier and longer up front, at the second level and in the secondary. So, it's going to feel a lot more like that game in terms of we're going to have to do a good job of refitting our hands up front on the O-line when they chop them off. We're going to have to do a good job of getting the hands of the DBs off us at receiver. That just adds another challenge. They're similar in that way.Â
"The two D-ends are really, really good. Linebackers are very good. They do a good job pursuing to the football. They are very, very multiple in coverage and so for Sam to trigger the ball quickly when we throw it, he's going to have to do a good job of ID'ing what they're doing. And our guys will have to do a good job of working into space when they zone it and creating separation when they man it. We have our hands full and our work cut out for us this week."
Players Mentioned
Offensive Line
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Defensive Back
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Offensive Line
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Place-Kicker
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Offensive Line
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Defensive Back
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Offensive Line
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Quarterback
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Place-Kicker
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Linebacker
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Running Back
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Defensive Back
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