University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Press Conference Notebook
August 26, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
For the first time in nearly six years, Mack Brown will be back on the sideline when North Carolina opens its 2019 season against South Carolina on Saturday in Charlotte.
But the College Football Hall of Famer is approaching the contest the same as any.
"I really haven't thought any different," Brown told reporters on Monday at the Kenan Football Center. "It's like I never left. I practiced really hard when I was with TV and I prepared really hard. That's just what you do for your job, but I haven't thought about anything any different.
"Saturday, for me, will be another game and I've had 43 years on that sideline, so I think it'll be the same way."
Here are more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
Quarterback conversation
Eight days after announcing Sam Howell would start taking snaps with the Blue Team, UNC's terminology for first team, Brown said that's still the case. The head coach wouldn't go as far as officially naming Howell the starter for Saturday. But as of Monday, Brown said Howell will start.
"We felt like if it was going to be Sam for sure, we didn't need to announce him the day before the game or the day of the game," Brown said. "He needed to have felt that for 10 days or two weeks that he was the guy and get comfortable with (the media) and get comfortable with it."
Brown later said he was unsure if he'd "ever seen a guy work harder than Sam Howell has just to get himself ready."
When asked if Howell and Jace Ruder will play against the Gamecocks, Longo said there's a plan for both. Whether or not that plan is used, he said, will be "dictated by the game situation." Brown provided a similar answer.
"We would like to play them both for a couple of reasons," Brown said. "Last year, Larry (Fedora) had three that were knocked out of games so you've got to have another guy ready. So we always would like to play two. Then you've got to figure out how, and we're not there yet. When do you bring them in, and does it disrupt your team, and does it take away from Sam? But with both of them being so young, we feel like this year we're going to need both of them."
Brown said true freshman Vincent Amendola is the third-string quarterback.
Scouting South Carolina
As the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Longo coached against South Carolina last November. He offered some unique insight into how the Gamecocks' defense might challenge the Tar Heels' offense on Saturday.
"They're very talented," Longo said. "The strength of the defense is up front. Their defensive line … is exceptional, led by No. 3 (Javon Kinlaw). He's a scheme-changer. You have to adapt everything that you do to a player like that. And he's got a good supporting cast with him on the D-line. There are six or seven returning starters on the defense so they have a lot of experience. No. 24 (Israel Mukuamu) is 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, he's tall and he's long. If he gets his hands on you, it's hard to run routes on him. So, he's an issue.
"I think overall, they match up well with us. I think the most important battle on the field is going to be our offensive line and their defensive line. That's probably the biggest matchup offensively in the game for us."
On the opposite side of the ball, Bateman said he's preparing for South Carolina to try to run the ball and throw it deep.
"I think they're really physical," Bateman said. "They do a really good job up front. I think Bryan Edwards, No. 89, is a really talented player who will probably make a lot of money playing football. Obviously, their quarterback, (Jake) Bentley, is a coach's son who has played a lot of football. He's really smart, hard to fool. …
"You see them at times against some really good defenses in the SEC look really good. So, we've got to do a great job with our run defense, be very gap sound, try to create some confusion up front and do a good job finding where No. 89 is and try to stay on top of him."
A familiar face
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp served as Brown's defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10. In that span, the Longhorn defense ranked No. 1 in the nation with 119 sacks and ranked in the top-10 nationally allowing 2.9 yards per rushing attempt (third), 96.7 rushing yards per game (fourth) and 297.4 yards per game (seventh).
Before leaving Texas for the head-coaching job at Florida, Muschamp had been named the Longhorns' head coach in waiting.
"He did a tremendous job for us there," Brown said. "We had a chance to win the national championship while he was there. That's why we gave him that title. We thought we wanted to keep him, and a lot of people were coming after him. He's smart, he's tough, he's aggressive. He did a tremendous job for us. And then when he left us, he became a head coach at Florida and he's doing a great job at South Carolina."
A rivalry restored?
Saturday's meeting between UNC and South Carolina will be the 58th all-time. But after playing each other at least twice every decade from 1900-1980, the two schools have played each other just five times since 1990.
Brown was asked Monday if the Gamecocks can be a rival again.
"I think so," he said. "We both recruit the same regions. In recruiting, it's like NC State, Duke, Wake (Forest), Clemson, we're all looking at this pool of guys in this footprint. It was my first game when I was here before with Coach Joe Morrison. In fact, they beat us like 38-14 and after the game, he said, 'You really have a bad team.' I said, 'Thanks, Coach. I was fully aware of that before, but you just reinforced it.' Hopefully Will won't tell me the same thing Saturday after the game.
"But I think it's a great game. I think the fact that we're halfway between the two (schools) and Charlotte is fun. And Charlotte is a hot bed for recruiting for both of us. It does matter to win any game, but when you're playing somebody all the kids are aware of and they know the coaches on both sides and they're being recruited by both sides, it is more important."
The Tar Heels are slated to meet South Carolina again in Charlotte in 2023.
For the first time in nearly six years, Mack Brown will be back on the sideline when North Carolina opens its 2019 season against South Carolina on Saturday in Charlotte.
But the College Football Hall of Famer is approaching the contest the same as any.
"I really haven't thought any different," Brown told reporters on Monday at the Kenan Football Center. "It's like I never left. I practiced really hard when I was with TV and I prepared really hard. That's just what you do for your job, but I haven't thought about anything any different.
"Saturday, for me, will be another game and I've had 43 years on that sideline, so I think it'll be the same way."
Here are more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
Quarterback conversation
Eight days after announcing Sam Howell would start taking snaps with the Blue Team, UNC's terminology for first team, Brown said that's still the case. The head coach wouldn't go as far as officially naming Howell the starter for Saturday. But as of Monday, Brown said Howell will start.
"We felt like if it was going to be Sam for sure, we didn't need to announce him the day before the game or the day of the game," Brown said. "He needed to have felt that for 10 days or two weeks that he was the guy and get comfortable with (the media) and get comfortable with it."
Brown later said he was unsure if he'd "ever seen a guy work harder than Sam Howell has just to get himself ready."
When asked if Howell and Jace Ruder will play against the Gamecocks, Longo said there's a plan for both. Whether or not that plan is used, he said, will be "dictated by the game situation." Brown provided a similar answer.
"We would like to play them both for a couple of reasons," Brown said. "Last year, Larry (Fedora) had three that were knocked out of games so you've got to have another guy ready. So we always would like to play two. Then you've got to figure out how, and we're not there yet. When do you bring them in, and does it disrupt your team, and does it take away from Sam? But with both of them being so young, we feel like this year we're going to need both of them."
Brown said true freshman Vincent Amendola is the third-string quarterback.
Scouting South Carolina
As the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Longo coached against South Carolina last November. He offered some unique insight into how the Gamecocks' defense might challenge the Tar Heels' offense on Saturday.
"They're very talented," Longo said. "The strength of the defense is up front. Their defensive line … is exceptional, led by No. 3 (Javon Kinlaw). He's a scheme-changer. You have to adapt everything that you do to a player like that. And he's got a good supporting cast with him on the D-line. There are six or seven returning starters on the defense so they have a lot of experience. No. 24 (Israel Mukuamu) is 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, he's tall and he's long. If he gets his hands on you, it's hard to run routes on him. So, he's an issue.
"I think overall, they match up well with us. I think the most important battle on the field is going to be our offensive line and their defensive line. That's probably the biggest matchup offensively in the game for us."
On the opposite side of the ball, Bateman said he's preparing for South Carolina to try to run the ball and throw it deep.
"I think they're really physical," Bateman said. "They do a really good job up front. I think Bryan Edwards, No. 89, is a really talented player who will probably make a lot of money playing football. Obviously, their quarterback, (Jake) Bentley, is a coach's son who has played a lot of football. He's really smart, hard to fool. …
"You see them at times against some really good defenses in the SEC look really good. So, we've got to do a great job with our run defense, be very gap sound, try to create some confusion up front and do a good job finding where No. 89 is and try to stay on top of him."
A familiar face
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp served as Brown's defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10. In that span, the Longhorn defense ranked No. 1 in the nation with 119 sacks and ranked in the top-10 nationally allowing 2.9 yards per rushing attempt (third), 96.7 rushing yards per game (fourth) and 297.4 yards per game (seventh).
Before leaving Texas for the head-coaching job at Florida, Muschamp had been named the Longhorns' head coach in waiting.
"He did a tremendous job for us there," Brown said. "We had a chance to win the national championship while he was there. That's why we gave him that title. We thought we wanted to keep him, and a lot of people were coming after him. He's smart, he's tough, he's aggressive. He did a tremendous job for us. And then when he left us, he became a head coach at Florida and he's doing a great job at South Carolina."
A rivalry restored?
Saturday's meeting between UNC and South Carolina will be the 58th all-time. But after playing each other at least twice every decade from 1900-1980, the two schools have played each other just five times since 1990.
Brown was asked Monday if the Gamecocks can be a rival again.
"I think so," he said. "We both recruit the same regions. In recruiting, it's like NC State, Duke, Wake (Forest), Clemson, we're all looking at this pool of guys in this footprint. It was my first game when I was here before with Coach Joe Morrison. In fact, they beat us like 38-14 and after the game, he said, 'You really have a bad team.' I said, 'Thanks, Coach. I was fully aware of that before, but you just reinforced it.' Hopefully Will won't tell me the same thing Saturday after the game.
"But I think it's a great game. I think the fact that we're halfway between the two (schools) and Charlotte is fun. And Charlotte is a hot bed for recruiting for both of us. It does matter to win any game, but when you're playing somebody all the kids are aware of and they know the coaches on both sides and they're being recruited by both sides, it is more important."
The Tar Heels are slated to meet South Carolina again in Charlotte in 2023.
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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Quarterback
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