GoHeels Exclusive: Tuesday Notebook

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

In New York City for former Texas quarterback Vince Young's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, Mack Brown had to Skype into the Dec. 8 meeting in which North Carolina learned its bowl destination.

But even then, the head coach could still sense how excited his players were when they found out they'll be playing in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.

"I could hear them screaming and yelling and giggling," Brown told reporters Monday during his first press conference since the regular season ended. "You always wonder, 'Well, I hope they like where we're going.' They didn't care. They were so excited, and they've been that way at all the practices. … To watch them, they've got a buzz about them and a confidence about them right now that's fun to watch."

Here are eight more notes from Brown's availability:

Schedule scoop

After taking last week off for exams, the Tar Heels returned to practice Saturday, the first of four straight practice days. They'll take Wednesday, the first day of the three-day early signing period, off before practicing two more times in Chapel Hill on Thursday and Friday.

From there, the players will be allowed to return home for about a day-and-a-half. They must, however, report to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Tentatively, UNC will practice Dec. 23 and 24 at Georgetown, hold light practices on Dec. 25 and 26, then face Temple on Dec. 27. The Dec. 23 practice, currently planned for 10 a.m., will be open to the public.

"All the recruits can come, even though we can't talk to them … and also any of our fans and boosters can come and bring their children," Brown said. "We felt like that would be good to have the first open practice up there from a recruiting and fan standpoint."

Staying fresh

Only 21 players on Carolina's roster were on the last team that reached a bowl game, the 2016 squad that fell to Stanford in the Sun Bowl. With so many players heading to their first bowl, Brown said the biggest challenge will be making sure they stay fresh amid all the scheduled activities leading up to the game.

"A lot of teams get tired by the bowl game because they're practicing, they're up walking around way too much and they're not taking care of themselves," Brown said. "So, we've always tried to say, 'Get in bed. Save your legs.'

"Our practices are a little bit different here than they are there because they're lighter there because we know our Monday practice there will be Tuesday because we're playing on Friday. So, we don't have a lot of time to prepare when we get there, so we want to make sure we're fresh for Friday."

Earning the right

Perhaps the primary beneficiaries of the 10 bowl practices, the underclassmen/reserves have been given the opportunity to earn playing time in the first few practices, Brown said.

"We are taking these practices and we're working part of them like spring practice for the young ones," Brown said. "And we have told the young ones, 'You are earning playing time right now and in spring practice.' We have 15 practices in the spring, three of them are in shorts, so you've really got 12. So, this is spring practice for us.

"We are taking those guys and we're putting them in inside drills, we're really being physical with the young guys and asking them to compete so we can see exactly who they are, if they haven't played a lot this fall."

Brown also said the staff will show those players highlights of the Tar Heels' signees on Thursday so they know who they'll be competing with in the spring and summer.

Navigating signing day

Brown said he expects 25 recruits, 12 of whom will enroll in January, to sign Wednesday.

This time last year, three weeks after Brown was introduced as UNC's head coach, he and his staff were hustling to finalize commitments before the early signing period. He said this year hasn't been as challenging, even with the team preparing for the bowl game.

"I tried to see all 12 guys who are coming in early before they get here because I wanted them to be there and I think I've got 11 of the 12," he said. "One I'll have to go to later and it will be local so it will be easy for me to have him run home and sit. And then I'll see all of the other guys in January who are coming in in June. … But I don't think it's been a problem at all. I really think the biggest issue is the new coach. It's a nightmare for the new coach."

Impending upgrades

Brown said one of the biggest reasons for the program's upward trajectory has been the facilities upgrades, such as the new synthetic grass inside Kenan Stadium. He also noted that more are in the works.

"At some point – and we're in the process of raising the money now – we've got to enlarge the whole bottom floor (of the Kenan Football Center)," Brown said. "The rest of the building is really good, but we'll move the training room into the locker room, we'll move the locker room to the weight room – which will be a 6,000-square-foot training room and an 8,000-square-foot locker room.

"Then we're going to knock out the front of the building on the bottom floor and build a 19,000-square-foot weight room. And then you'll probably enter and go up the second floor. So, we've got that in the plans; it's been in there for a while, but now it's a real possibility."

'A great compliment'

With the program riding so much positive momentum, Brown said other schools are starting to take notice.

"Some major schools are recruiting against us now and saying I'm going to quit, that I'm too old.," said the 68-year-old. "I thought, 'How cool is that?' That's a great compliment that we've got somebody recruiting against us in our first year. "

Carolina announced Brown had signed a one-year extension Saturday, keeping the length of his contract at five years, now through the 2024 season. He said he wanted the extension. But it also might prove a point to anyone who thinks he isn't in this for the long haul.

"At this stage in my career," Brown said, "coaches get jealous because we're doing too well, we're recruiting too well, we won more games than they wanted us to and they know how powerful this place is in this state, especially when you're winning and you're the cool place to be. I'm really flattered the only thing they can say is I'm not going to be here.

"I thought that was pretty cool; usually, there was a long list of stuff. Our coaches are coming back and saying, 'Coach, they're saying you're out of here.' I said, 'Well, I'm not. Tell them I'm here.' I'm going to coach here as long as I can. As long as I'm effective for North Carolina, I will be the football coach here."

Dual threats

With Jace Ruder sidelined since sustaining an injury in the fourth game of the season against Appalachian State, Brown told Phil Longo not to run Sam Howell in order to keep him from getting hurt. But going forward, the quarterback will be a factor in the running game.

"We were going to do it with Jace some, too, and the first play he gets in against Appalachian State and fractures his ankle and a knee, and that really set us back," Brown said. "That was a huge setback for this team because we were going to play Jace a lot more and have both of them in there and have two packages like we started at Wake Forest, because we'd like to play two quarterbacks some. But I feel like in this offense, your quarterback has to run."

Brown added that Ruder won't play in the bowl game and the Tar Heels will appeal to the NCAA to get his year back.

Another go-around?

UNC's juniors – including Chazz Surratt, the team's leading tackler; Dazz Newsome, the team's leading receiver; and Michael Carter, the team's leading rusher – have accounted for a significant amount of production this year. And although many of them could turn pro, it appears they won't – at least of now.

"Right now, every junior has told us they're coming back," Brown said. "Obviously, that can change. Coach (Darrell) Moody sits down and talks to every one of them about their draft status and what they need to improve if they are going out and what some of the concerns would be of the scouts since he's done that for 19 years.

"Right now, they're all saying they would like to come back."

Players Mentioned

Michael Carter

Sam Howell

Dazz Newsome

Jace Ruder

Chazz Surratt

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