University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Pre-Training Camp Press Conference Notes
August 1, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Eight months into his second stint as North Carolina's head football coach, Mack Brown believes significant progress has been made since he returned to Chapel Hill in November.
But with training camp beginning Friday, Brown and his staff are in some ways just getting started.
"Our job now is we've got to start coaching them up," Brown told reporters during his pre-camp press conference on Wednesday. "It's no more learning the system and no more getting to know each other and building trust. We've got to coach. And to do that, you've got to evaluate.Â
"Players will decide who plays and who plays where. We've got a number of young guys; we're not sure where they'll play yet, especially on defense. We're not looking at starting [to] redshirt anybody as we go into the season. We're going to play everybody we need to win."
Here are four more notes from Wednesday's press conference:
Camp logistics
Brown said the players and coaching staff will stay at the Hyatt for 16 days before the dorms open. Players who live off campus were given the option to stay at their places of residence, but voted to stay with the rest of the team at the hotel.
The Tar Heels will be in shorts the first two practices and then spend the next two in shells. They'll then move to full pads Tuesday, when the team is scheduled to hold the first of four 3 p.m. practices slated for August.
Most practices during training camp will be from 10 a.m.-noon. They'll then primarily be from 8-10 a.m. once classes begin. The 3 p.m. practices, however, are being implemented to prepare for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff against South Carolina on Aug. 31. Brown said UNC will also hold at least one night practice in August to prepare for the 8 p.m. kickoff against Miami on Sept. 7.
Full strength
Brown noted Friday's practice will mark the first time the coaching staff has seen the entire team on the field at once. Multiple players – such as Allen Cater, Myles Dorn, Tyrone Hopper, Jason Strowbridge and Myles Wolfolk – were limited or sat out during the spring because of injuries.
When asked specifically about those five key defensive players, Brown recognized they'll have some catching up to do.
"We do expect them to practice Friday," Brown said. "They're released now. So now, any time you've got someone like Cater with his knee, if it swells, will it slow him down? We're not sure. … The front guys are more behind than the back end guys because especially Myles Wolfolk practiced a lot in the spring; he just couldn't do it full speed. But he knew the system.Â
"Myles Dorn was out there a lot. He didn't get to practice because of his hernia. But Strowbridge and the two outside guys didn't do anything. So they'll be more behind than the other guys."
No rush on QB decision
Brown said there's no set timetable for naming a starting quarterback. As was the case during the spring, reps will be split evenly between Cade Fortin, Sam Howell and Jace Ruder. And that will continue to be the case until one or more builds separation.
"The biggest thing for us is getting the right guys, and they're all young (and) two of them got hurt last year so there's some history of injuries there," Brown said. "So we've got to make sure we've got at least two guys to be prepared to play and hopefully a third one."
Brown referenced how he rotated quarterbacks during his previous tenure at Carolina and relied primarily on one quarterback at Texas. He said he doesn't prefer one strategy over the other; he just wants to win.
"If one of them goes out there and takes over and does really well, he'll play," Brown said. "We do need to have two ready to play, obviously, because you're one snap away from losing your quarterback at all times and your whole team is depending on how your quarterback plays. So two of these guys need to be healthy and ready to go."
A key concern
Nick Polino spent almost all spring at center, but Brown said the graduate offensive lineman will begin training camp at left guard, where he started all 11 games last season. Subsequently, Brown said Ed Montilus and Brian Anderson will begin practice at right guard and center, respectively.
"With what we're doing, the center is so key and he's got to be able to snap the ball well," Brown said. "We had a lot of poor snaps in the spring. We also will look at Ty Murray, a true freshman, (at center). He's 325, 330 pounds and has been very impressive this summer. … But Nick will keep a presence in that center role just until we find out what we've got at center. That's one of the key concerns for us going into preseason camp."
Eight months into his second stint as North Carolina's head football coach, Mack Brown believes significant progress has been made since he returned to Chapel Hill in November.
But with training camp beginning Friday, Brown and his staff are in some ways just getting started.
"Our job now is we've got to start coaching them up," Brown told reporters during his pre-camp press conference on Wednesday. "It's no more learning the system and no more getting to know each other and building trust. We've got to coach. And to do that, you've got to evaluate.Â
"Players will decide who plays and who plays where. We've got a number of young guys; we're not sure where they'll play yet, especially on defense. We're not looking at starting [to] redshirt anybody as we go into the season. We're going to play everybody we need to win."
Here are four more notes from Wednesday's press conference:
Camp logistics
Brown said the players and coaching staff will stay at the Hyatt for 16 days before the dorms open. Players who live off campus were given the option to stay at their places of residence, but voted to stay with the rest of the team at the hotel.
The Tar Heels will be in shorts the first two practices and then spend the next two in shells. They'll then move to full pads Tuesday, when the team is scheduled to hold the first of four 3 p.m. practices slated for August.
Most practices during training camp will be from 10 a.m.-noon. They'll then primarily be from 8-10 a.m. once classes begin. The 3 p.m. practices, however, are being implemented to prepare for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff against South Carolina on Aug. 31. Brown said UNC will also hold at least one night practice in August to prepare for the 8 p.m. kickoff against Miami on Sept. 7.
Full strength
Brown noted Friday's practice will mark the first time the coaching staff has seen the entire team on the field at once. Multiple players – such as Allen Cater, Myles Dorn, Tyrone Hopper, Jason Strowbridge and Myles Wolfolk – were limited or sat out during the spring because of injuries.
When asked specifically about those five key defensive players, Brown recognized they'll have some catching up to do.
"We do expect them to practice Friday," Brown said. "They're released now. So now, any time you've got someone like Cater with his knee, if it swells, will it slow him down? We're not sure. … The front guys are more behind than the back end guys because especially Myles Wolfolk practiced a lot in the spring; he just couldn't do it full speed. But he knew the system.Â
"Myles Dorn was out there a lot. He didn't get to practice because of his hernia. But Strowbridge and the two outside guys didn't do anything. So they'll be more behind than the other guys."
No rush on QB decision
Brown said there's no set timetable for naming a starting quarterback. As was the case during the spring, reps will be split evenly between Cade Fortin, Sam Howell and Jace Ruder. And that will continue to be the case until one or more builds separation.
"The biggest thing for us is getting the right guys, and they're all young (and) two of them got hurt last year so there's some history of injuries there," Brown said. "So we've got to make sure we've got at least two guys to be prepared to play and hopefully a third one."
Brown referenced how he rotated quarterbacks during his previous tenure at Carolina and relied primarily on one quarterback at Texas. He said he doesn't prefer one strategy over the other; he just wants to win.
"If one of them goes out there and takes over and does really well, he'll play," Brown said. "We do need to have two ready to play, obviously, because you're one snap away from losing your quarterback at all times and your whole team is depending on how your quarterback plays. So two of these guys need to be healthy and ready to go."
A key concern
Nick Polino spent almost all spring at center, but Brown said the graduate offensive lineman will begin training camp at left guard, where he started all 11 games last season. Subsequently, Brown said Ed Montilus and Brian Anderson will begin practice at right guard and center, respectively.
"With what we're doing, the center is so key and he's got to be able to snap the ball well," Brown said. "We had a lot of poor snaps in the spring. We also will look at Ty Murray, a true freshman, (at center). He's 325, 330 pounds and has been very impressive this summer. … But Nick will keep a presence in that center role just until we find out what we've got at center. That's one of the key concerns for us going into preseason camp."
Players Mentioned
Offensive Line
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Linebacker
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Defensive Back
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Linebacker
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Offensive Line
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Offensive Line
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Offensive Line
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Quarterback
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Defensive Line
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Defensive Back
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Sunday, September 27
Saturday, September 26
Saturday, September 26