University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: You've Got To Believe
September 1, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
CHARLOTTE — On the first day of his second stint as North Carolina's head football coach, Mack Brown stood behind a lectern at the Blue Zone last November, explaining why he was returning to the sidelines after five years away.
He talked about how he missed the relationships with players. He also missed having a staff. Without either, he and his wife Sally felt a void in their lives. Only a team could fill it.
On the field, though, there's nothing he said he missed more than winning close games late.
"I didn't like getting behind," Brown said then. "But I thought it was the coolest thing that you had confidence, the ability and the discipline to come back and beat somebody late in a game. I've missed that. And I look forward to that."
One game is all his new team needed to deliver.
Nine months after he returned to UNC, Brown watched his players display the sort of confidence and grit that he hoped they'd have as they rallied for a 24-20 win over South Carolina on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium.
The feeling of such a dramatic victory was just how he remembered it. And as he stood on the field and watched his team celebrate, he fought back tears.
"I did get a little emotional with Allison (Williams) afterward because everything we've told these kids that would happen, happened," Brown said. "Those kids were so happy. My life and Sally's life is better when we get to see happy kids. The process that we've done, the people that we've brought in, gave them opportunities to be happy. That's the best thing in the world to see them do that."
As much as the win meant to Brown, it meant just as much, if not more, to a group of players determined to change people's perception of them.
Entering Saturday, the Tar Heels were 3-21 in their last 24 games against FBS opponents. Eleven of the losses were by seven or fewer points. Another five were by 12 or fewer. UNC held 16 second-half leads in those 24 games, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
So, upon his return to Chapel Hill, Brown started stressing the importance of finishing strong.
During offseason workouts, strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess stopped and told the players to lock in near the end of the sessions. Then, in training camp, Brown huddled the team near midfield to announce the start of the fourth quarter. Occasionally, a hype video appeared on the video board at one end of the field.
Clearly, the coaching staff's message got through. Trailing the Gamecocks 20-9 as the fourth quarter approached, Carolina elevated its game when it most needed to.
"We just kept telling the kids, 'You've got to believe,'" Brown said. "And every time adversity hits, we told them, 'Get more positive, get more animated. If you do something good, we're going to be all over you. If you do something bad, we're going to be picking you up.'
"They've had a lot of things happen bad in their careers the last two years. We just told them, 'This is new. This is different.'"
It certainly felt that way on the sideline.
"You could feel the energy," Michael Carter said. "We felt like we were going to win the game. Even when we were down 20-9, we felt like we were going to win the game then. It's the idea that we feel like we're going to win the game no matter where we're at."
Where the Tar Heels' offense was at late in the third quarter – pinned back on its 2-yard line – wasn't ideal. But on his second carry of the game, Antonio Williams gained 20 crucial yards. The senior picked up 31 more on a 98-yard scoring drive, capped by a juggling touchdown catch by Dyami Brown.
That touchdown pass marked the first of freshman quarterback Sam Howell's career. But it wasn't even his most impressive play.
After another strong stand by UNC's defense, which allowed just 3.3 yards per play over the last three quarters, the offense took over at its 5. At that point, Howell began to air it out, completing passes of 31 and 23 yards to Dazz Newsome. The freshman then tossed up a 50/50 ball for Beau Corrales, who came down with a 17-yard touchdown that gave Carolina the lead for good.
Howell never doubted himself or his receivers.
"I have faith in those guys," he said. "You (reporters) say 50/50 balls. It's really 80/20. If they've got a little bit of space, I'm going to get the ball to them and let them make a play."
That's the sort of confidence Brown said back in November that the Tar Heels would need to win in the fourth quarter. Howell doesn't lack any. In fact, he, like the rest of his teammates, has gained more thanks to the changes Hess made to the strength and conditioning program.
UNC's endurance gave it a noticeable advantage on a sweltering day in Charlotte. That was especially clear in the trenches, all the way up until Tomon Fox and Chazz Surratt combined for the strip-sack that ended the game.
"We didn't win the game today," Carter said. "We won the game in May, June, July, February, January. I just think it was building up the whole time. That's how you build confidence, in practicing execution in practice and going hard, doing extra, when you're not asked to. That's when you win games and that's where you get confidence from."
In the summer, Carter said the team embraced a saying: We don't want hype, we want work.
The Tar Heels have put in plenty of the latter over the past few months. And whether Carter wants it or not, some hype is starting to be generated. That shouldn't come as a surprise when you come back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to earn your first season-opening win over a Power 5 team since 1997, the last year your Hall of Fame coach strolled your sideline.
But as much as people are going to make Saturday's game about him, Mack Brown would rather talk about his team, the one that's allowed him to experience all the joys of being a coach that he not so long ago missed.
"I've never seen a happier group in the dressing room than they were tonight," Brown said. "The 2005 National Championship team was not any happier than this team tonight. So, I'm really, really proud for them."
CHARLOTTE — On the first day of his second stint as North Carolina's head football coach, Mack Brown stood behind a lectern at the Blue Zone last November, explaining why he was returning to the sidelines after five years away.
He talked about how he missed the relationships with players. He also missed having a staff. Without either, he and his wife Sally felt a void in their lives. Only a team could fill it.
On the field, though, there's nothing he said he missed more than winning close games late.
"I didn't like getting behind," Brown said then. "But I thought it was the coolest thing that you had confidence, the ability and the discipline to come back and beat somebody late in a game. I've missed that. And I look forward to that."
One game is all his new team needed to deliver.
Nine months after he returned to UNC, Brown watched his players display the sort of confidence and grit that he hoped they'd have as they rallied for a 24-20 win over South Carolina on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium.
The feeling of such a dramatic victory was just how he remembered it. And as he stood on the field and watched his team celebrate, he fought back tears.
"I did get a little emotional with Allison (Williams) afterward because everything we've told these kids that would happen, happened," Brown said. "Those kids were so happy. My life and Sally's life is better when we get to see happy kids. The process that we've done, the people that we've brought in, gave them opportunities to be happy. That's the best thing in the world to see them do that."
As much as the win meant to Brown, it meant just as much, if not more, to a group of players determined to change people's perception of them.
Entering Saturday, the Tar Heels were 3-21 in their last 24 games against FBS opponents. Eleven of the losses were by seven or fewer points. Another five were by 12 or fewer. UNC held 16 second-half leads in those 24 games, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
So, upon his return to Chapel Hill, Brown started stressing the importance of finishing strong.
During offseason workouts, strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess stopped and told the players to lock in near the end of the sessions. Then, in training camp, Brown huddled the team near midfield to announce the start of the fourth quarter. Occasionally, a hype video appeared on the video board at one end of the field.
Clearly, the coaching staff's message got through. Trailing the Gamecocks 20-9 as the fourth quarter approached, Carolina elevated its game when it most needed to.
"We just kept telling the kids, 'You've got to believe,'" Brown said. "And every time adversity hits, we told them, 'Get more positive, get more animated. If you do something good, we're going to be all over you. If you do something bad, we're going to be picking you up.'
"They've had a lot of things happen bad in their careers the last two years. We just told them, 'This is new. This is different.'"
It certainly felt that way on the sideline.
"You could feel the energy," Michael Carter said. "We felt like we were going to win the game. Even when we were down 20-9, we felt like we were going to win the game then. It's the idea that we feel like we're going to win the game no matter where we're at."
Where the Tar Heels' offense was at late in the third quarter – pinned back on its 2-yard line – wasn't ideal. But on his second carry of the game, Antonio Williams gained 20 crucial yards. The senior picked up 31 more on a 98-yard scoring drive, capped by a juggling touchdown catch by Dyami Brown.
That touchdown pass marked the first of freshman quarterback Sam Howell's career. But it wasn't even his most impressive play.
After another strong stand by UNC's defense, which allowed just 3.3 yards per play over the last three quarters, the offense took over at its 5. At that point, Howell began to air it out, completing passes of 31 and 23 yards to Dazz Newsome. The freshman then tossed up a 50/50 ball for Beau Corrales, who came down with a 17-yard touchdown that gave Carolina the lead for good.
Howell never doubted himself or his receivers.
"I have faith in those guys," he said. "You (reporters) say 50/50 balls. It's really 80/20. If they've got a little bit of space, I'm going to get the ball to them and let them make a play."
That's the sort of confidence Brown said back in November that the Tar Heels would need to win in the fourth quarter. Howell doesn't lack any. In fact, he, like the rest of his teammates, has gained more thanks to the changes Hess made to the strength and conditioning program.
UNC's endurance gave it a noticeable advantage on a sweltering day in Charlotte. That was especially clear in the trenches, all the way up until Tomon Fox and Chazz Surratt combined for the strip-sack that ended the game.
"We didn't win the game today," Carter said. "We won the game in May, June, July, February, January. I just think it was building up the whole time. That's how you build confidence, in practicing execution in practice and going hard, doing extra, when you're not asked to. That's when you win games and that's where you get confidence from."
In the summer, Carter said the team embraced a saying: We don't want hype, we want work.
The Tar Heels have put in plenty of the latter over the past few months. And whether Carter wants it or not, some hype is starting to be generated. That shouldn't come as a surprise when you come back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to earn your first season-opening win over a Power 5 team since 1997, the last year your Hall of Fame coach strolled your sideline.
But as much as people are going to make Saturday's game about him, Mack Brown would rather talk about his team, the one that's allowed him to experience all the joys of being a coach that he not so long ago missed.
"I've never seen a happier group in the dressing room than they were tonight," Brown said. "The 2005 National Championship team was not any happier than this team tonight. So, I'm really, really proud for them."
Players Mentioned
Wide Receiver
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Running Back
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Wide Receiver
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Wide Receiver
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Linebacker
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Running Back
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