Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications
GoHeels Exclusive: Second Scrimmage Notebook
August 17, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
The North Carolina football team held its second intrasquad scrimmage of training camp on Saturday at Kenan Stadium. Afterward, a few of the veterans on the roster met with reporters.
Here's some of what they had to say:
Jeremiah Gemmel, redshirt sophomore linebacker
On the defense's performance in the scrimmage
"The last two Saturdays, the defense came out and the first three series we had a three-and-out on offense. So, you can't really be much happier than three straight three-and-outs two scrimmages in a row."
On the defense typically being ahead of the offense at this point in camp
"At the beginning of spring, we were a little off because we didn't know the offense's tendencies. By the end of the spring, we were clicking on everything, and that carried over into fall camp. Right when we got into fall camp, we already were on top of all their tendencies and their little cues. So, we picked up on a lot of things."
On how well the defense communicated during the scrimmage
"We did good the whole practice until the end. I guess some guys were getting a little tired, so they weren't talking as much. Every big play they get is just because of communication. Every time we get lined up and we communicate, usually we're set up and we're fine."
On if the defense has emphasized creating more turnovers
"Definitely. I think every practice this fall camp we've had a turnover of some sort, either an interception or a fumble. And the big thing we've been harping on is attacking the ball. Interceptions, obviously, but the big thing we really didn't focus on in the spring was punching at the ball, getting the ball loose. You can tell we're getting a lot more fumbles than we were in the spring."
Antonio Williams, senior running back
On the scrimmage
"It went good. The first two drives, the defense stopped the offense. They did really good. The defense played their tails off again. But then things kind of evened out. We started moving the ball pretty good. We completed some passes and broke off some runs. The defense made some stops again. So, it was good back-and-forth action today."
On if the offense bogged down as much during the second scrimmage as it did in the first
"I think we did the opposite today. Well, I wouldn't even say opposite. I think we moved the ball and kind of kept it going once we got it moving. It was just the fact of getting it moving. Like I've said, our defense is really good and to get moving on them is kind of difficult. But once we did today, our offense got confidence going and we did what we needed to do."
On if there was anything different the offense did Saturday that allowed it to find more success than last week
"Yeah, we came out with a different attitude. Last week we came out kind of flat. The offense didn't have much energy on the sideline. The defense came out last week and they were jumping around. Today, the offense came out with a little bit more energy. I think that showed on the field. It wasn't enough energy, I don't think, but I think it was good enough to kind of get what we wanted. But now, we've got to up it and come out at a high level like we finished the game."
On the offense's consistency
"It was good today. It's gotten better ever since last week. Some leaders stepped up and we kind of challenged the offense and said, 'We know what we've got to do. We know we have potential.' And guys took that and now we're rolling a little bit."
On if there were any "wow" moments
"(Rontavius) Groves had a really good catch in the one-minute period that put us in field goal range and allowed us to kick the game-winning field goal."
Nick Polino, graduate offensive lineman
On the offense's performance in the scrimmage
"Today was definitely a lot better than last week. We were able to move the chains, got in the end zone a couple of times. It was definitely a lot cleaner offensively than last week."
On the offense's problems getting rolling and how correctable they are
"We'll have to watch the tape and see what it was today, but I'm sure it's just little technique things, like some guy didn't have his eyes in the right place or did something wrong, because offensive football, you have to have 11 guys doing their job to have a productive play. If 10 guys are doing their job and one guy doesn't and gets beat, then the play can get shot down. It's just making sure everyone is on the same page to start, has good intensity on that first play to kind of set the tone. And all that's easily correctable. We've just got to watch the film today in meetings and we'll correct it and keep moving forward."
On the chemistry that the offensive line has developed through two scrimmages
"It's good. Once we start rolling, we're rolling. We've just got to work – and that's me and Charlie (Heck) have to step up and get the guys on the same intensity on that first snap. We've got to set the tone because that first snap can, at least mentally for some people, make or break the game. If you come off the ball and you really stroke somebody on the first play, you're like, 'Alright, I've got this dude.' It's just kind of that sort of thing. We've got to get everybody on the same page, making sure no one is getting thrown any curveballs on the first snap, everybody knows their assignment. And we can just come off the ball and do what we did."
On how much he's been practicing at center
"I've been getting a little bit heavier load this week. I was at center all day today. Like I've said, I'm going to go wherever they need me. I'm going to go wherever is best for the team. If I have to punt, I'm going to go punt. … Back in the day I might have a little film of me doing that. But I'm going to go where they need me. If that's at center, that's at center. I'm able to do all three of the positions on the inside, so if somebody goes down, I can swing over."
On if he feels good about the progress that the offense made between scrimmages
"Definitely. I think last week there was a lot more missed-assignment stuff, different blitzes, just not picking stuff up, which we kind of shut down today. We still gave up a few sacks, which we've got to continue to work on, but it definitely wasn't nearly as bad as last week. From today to last week, we definitely were a week better. It's just continuing that fight to get better every day."
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The North Carolina football team held its second intrasquad scrimmage of training camp on Saturday at Kenan Stadium. Afterward, a few of the veterans on the roster met with reporters.
Here's some of what they had to say:
Jeremiah Gemmel, redshirt sophomore linebacker
On the defense's performance in the scrimmage
"The last two Saturdays, the defense came out and the first three series we had a three-and-out on offense. So, you can't really be much happier than three straight three-and-outs two scrimmages in a row."
On the defense typically being ahead of the offense at this point in camp
"At the beginning of spring, we were a little off because we didn't know the offense's tendencies. By the end of the spring, we were clicking on everything, and that carried over into fall camp. Right when we got into fall camp, we already were on top of all their tendencies and their little cues. So, we picked up on a lot of things."
On how well the defense communicated during the scrimmage
"We did good the whole practice until the end. I guess some guys were getting a little tired, so they weren't talking as much. Every big play they get is just because of communication. Every time we get lined up and we communicate, usually we're set up and we're fine."
On if the defense has emphasized creating more turnovers
"Definitely. I think every practice this fall camp we've had a turnover of some sort, either an interception or a fumble. And the big thing we've been harping on is attacking the ball. Interceptions, obviously, but the big thing we really didn't focus on in the spring was punching at the ball, getting the ball loose. You can tell we're getting a lot more fumbles than we were in the spring."
Antonio Williams, senior running back
On the scrimmage
"It went good. The first two drives, the defense stopped the offense. They did really good. The defense played their tails off again. But then things kind of evened out. We started moving the ball pretty good. We completed some passes and broke off some runs. The defense made some stops again. So, it was good back-and-forth action today."
On if the offense bogged down as much during the second scrimmage as it did in the first
"I think we did the opposite today. Well, I wouldn't even say opposite. I think we moved the ball and kind of kept it going once we got it moving. It was just the fact of getting it moving. Like I've said, our defense is really good and to get moving on them is kind of difficult. But once we did today, our offense got confidence going and we did what we needed to do."
On if there was anything different the offense did Saturday that allowed it to find more success than last week
"Yeah, we came out with a different attitude. Last week we came out kind of flat. The offense didn't have much energy on the sideline. The defense came out last week and they were jumping around. Today, the offense came out with a little bit more energy. I think that showed on the field. It wasn't enough energy, I don't think, but I think it was good enough to kind of get what we wanted. But now, we've got to up it and come out at a high level like we finished the game."
On the offense's consistency
"It was good today. It's gotten better ever since last week. Some leaders stepped up and we kind of challenged the offense and said, 'We know what we've got to do. We know we have potential.' And guys took that and now we're rolling a little bit."
On if there were any "wow" moments
"(Rontavius) Groves had a really good catch in the one-minute period that put us in field goal range and allowed us to kick the game-winning field goal."
Nick Polino, graduate offensive lineman
On the offense's performance in the scrimmage
"Today was definitely a lot better than last week. We were able to move the chains, got in the end zone a couple of times. It was definitely a lot cleaner offensively than last week."
On the offense's problems getting rolling and how correctable they are
"We'll have to watch the tape and see what it was today, but I'm sure it's just little technique things, like some guy didn't have his eyes in the right place or did something wrong, because offensive football, you have to have 11 guys doing their job to have a productive play. If 10 guys are doing their job and one guy doesn't and gets beat, then the play can get shot down. It's just making sure everyone is on the same page to start, has good intensity on that first play to kind of set the tone. And all that's easily correctable. We've just got to watch the film today in meetings and we'll correct it and keep moving forward."
On the chemistry that the offensive line has developed through two scrimmages
"It's good. Once we start rolling, we're rolling. We've just got to work – and that's me and Charlie (Heck) have to step up and get the guys on the same intensity on that first snap. We've got to set the tone because that first snap can, at least mentally for some people, make or break the game. If you come off the ball and you really stroke somebody on the first play, you're like, 'Alright, I've got this dude.' It's just kind of that sort of thing. We've got to get everybody on the same page, making sure no one is getting thrown any curveballs on the first snap, everybody knows their assignment. And we can just come off the ball and do what we did."
On how much he's been practicing at center
"I've been getting a little bit heavier load this week. I was at center all day today. Like I've said, I'm going to go wherever they need me. I'm going to go wherever is best for the team. If I have to punt, I'm going to go punt. … Back in the day I might have a little film of me doing that. But I'm going to go where they need me. If that's at center, that's at center. I'm able to do all three of the positions on the inside, so if somebody goes down, I can swing over."
On if he feels good about the progress that the offense made between scrimmages
"Definitely. I think last week there was a lot more missed-assignment stuff, different blitzes, just not picking stuff up, which we kind of shut down today. We still gave up a few sacks, which we've got to continue to work on, but it definitely wasn't nearly as bad as last week. From today to last week, we definitely were a week better. It's just continuing that fight to get better every day."
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Players Mentioned
Linebacker
/ Football
Offensive Line
/ Football
Running Back
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