University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Monday Notebook
September 30, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Immediately after North Carolina's 21-20 loss against Clemson on Saturday, Mack Brown said he wasn't into moral victories.
But speaking with reporters for the first time since then during his press conference on Monday, the Hall of Fame head coach said that doesn't mean there aren't things that the Tar Heels can build off heading into this Saturday's game at Georgia Tech.
"I think the thing that you look at is, if we lay down and don't play after this, then we didn't learn," Brown said. "If we use it again to continue to grow and build, then we really learned something. It did send a message to our fan base that we're headed in the right direction. It did send a message to recruits that, if we can get Clemson down to one play, we're going to be good in the future, so you'd better jump on now because this train is taking off. So, if you want to be part of this, come on.Â
"If you get beat 45-10, that's a hard message. So, I think everything came out of Saturday good, except we lost by one point.
Here are five more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
2-point talk
Two days removed from saying going for the 2-point conversion gave Carolina the best chance to beat Clemson, Brown doubled down on that decision Monday.
"We felt like a one-play shot was better than taking a chance," Brown said, "and then taking a chance on having them kick a field goal because they had already missed one, and then taking a depleted defense into overtime. The play that we ran was a zone-read. You've got an opportunity to hand it to Javonte Williams, you've got an opportunity for your quarterback to keep it and you've got an opportunity to pitch it to Dazz Newsome, all three really good players.Â
"When a play call doesn't work, the play-caller gets criticized. Even my 8-year-old grandson said, 'Why that play, pops?' I said, 'OK, Tyler, let it go, bud.' But even he said it.'"
Longo later expanded on the reasoning behind the triple-option play.
"Every week we put together a goal-line play list, and usually your two best goal-line play list plays, maybe your three best, are your choices for the 2-point play," Longo said. "We had one that we were going to run out of our base offense in trips, but we scored with the RB in one game this year. The other one that we ran, that same play was the touchdown catch that won the Miami game.Â
"So, we had that play produce two touchdowns for us in two of the last four games, and Clemson has such an excellent staff, and I just felt like that wasn't going to be the right call at the 3-yard line, because what they do defensively, it can create some issues at the 3. We like that play maybe from the 7 or the 10. But that was one of the calls. The reason we didn't go with it is I just think they had their guys coached up. They knew that we ran that twice, and it was productive for us down there. So, it really was the third choice.Â
"The second choice was the play we ran and the first choice for us as the 2-point play, we exhausted that trying to score. That was the catch that (Jake) Bargas caught, the great catch on the 1-inch line. So, that would have been my first choice as the 2-point play."
Many people suggested after the game that the play the Tar Heels ran was the same one they used to convert a 2-point try against South Carolina. Longo said it wasn't. In that game, he said they ran a straight speed option.
Sending a message
Brown's decision to attempt the 2-point conversion shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. UNC is 9-for-11 on fourth downs and 3-for-4 on 2-point conversions, and those numbers reflect a message that Brown is sending to his players, recruits and fans.
"We're going to be aggressive," he said. "I'm at a stage in my life where I don't care about anything but winning and doing it within the rules. So, if anybody wants to criticize me, who cares? I don't care. I'm not looking for another job. I think the biggest thing is it's freedom to be this age and to have won this many games and be able to do what you think is best for your team. …
"For the kids, I want them to know I came back to help them win. It would've been less criticism on me if I had kicked the extra point and let it play out. Then if we lose, 'Oh, we just were a little short.' I wanted to win."
Longo said Brown's aggressiveness changes how he sometimes calls third downs. For example, if Carolina is facing third-and-8 at a certain point in a game, he might call a play that'll pick up five or six yards, knowing he has four downs to work with. Going for 2, he said, was "in theme with the way he's called just about every game."
"It's based on some statistical analysis," Longo said, "but it's also based on the fact that he has confidence in our players, both on the offensive side and on the defensive side, and he has confidence in the plan that the staff comes up with each week. He's going to try to win every football game, and I don't think you'll see that change. That's his philosophy and that's our staff's philosophy."
Heck's heroics
After missing the Appalachian State game due to a broken right hand, Charlie Heck returned for the Clemson game and played all 65 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).Â
Although the Tigers' front seven might not be as terrifying as it was last season, they still possess plenty of talent. And even with his hand in a cast, Heck more than held his own, posting a career-best 89.9 pass-blocking grade, according to PFF. But that's not the only way he helped.
"Charlie helped us physically on the field, but Charlie also, just his presence on the sideline and his leadership and the fact that he was back," Longo said. "There's an incredible value in Charlie off the field, as well, and I thought we kind of felt that on Saturday, too, especially with the offensive line."
When he asked doctors if Heck could damage his hand any more by playing, Brown said they told him "absolutely not." Still, Brown said Heck's decision to play was entirely up to the redshirt senior.Â
Most NFL prospects, Brown said, wouldn't have played. But that thought never seemed to cross Heck's mind. That Heck did play and performed as well as he did will surely be something Brown will mention when NFL scouts ask him about Heck going forward.
"He could've laid down," Brown said. "It would've been safer and easier for him not to play. And he's playing against the best talent in the country, and it's good for (scouts) to see him play against the best talent in the country, when he didn't have to, with one hand. So, I think he really, really helped his stock on Saturday."
Dorn's smartsÂ
With Myles Wolfolk sidelined against Clemson due to an injury, Brown said Myles Dorn rotated between the two safety spots depending on whether Don Chapman or Cam'Ron Kelly was in the game. How Dorn handled that led Brown to call him "a hero" on Monday.
Bateman has previously described Dorn and Wolfolk as "elite smart," and Dorn's play on Saturday backed that up.
"I love Myles Dorn," Bateman said. "I told him (last) Monday, when we found out (Wolfolk) definitely wasn't going to play, 'Hey, look, you've got to be able to play these two spots.' And then we're getting ready for the game, Dre (Bly) said, 'Who's going to be our third nickel?' And I was like, 'Myles, you better be ready for that, too.'
"Myles is really smart. I actually think the boundary safety is probably where he's a more natural fit for. All the NFL guys, when I talk with them, that's what they think about him is he's a guy who can get more involved in the run. Really smart. So, I'm glad he's there. He's going to have to carry his weight a little bit with some of these young guys out there these next few weeks."
Scouting Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech enters Saturday's contest at 1-3, with its lone win coming against USF. The Yellow Jackets dropped their season opener at Clemson, 52-14, and are coming off back-to-back losses against The Citadel and Temple.
Brown said Georgia Tech "ran into a buzzsaw" in the Owls on Saturday, considering that was their first game against their former coach Geoff Collins, who is in his first season as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets.
"Last week was a complete ambush, because I've done that," Brown said. "But Geoff going back to Temple, right after he recruited all those players, they were going to be after him. So, that one was one that when I came back in here (in 2002 as the head coach at Texas), it wasn't a lot of fun. There were a lot of people who liked to beat us. I knew that one was going to be a tough one for him. But they'll be ready to play."
Collins and his staff have moved away from the triple-option offense that Georgia Tech ran under former head coach Paul Johnson. But Brown said the Yellow Jackets have "kept enough of the option principles" in the new system. Bateman agreed.
"You see there are some pieces that," Bateman said. "They've got the tight end, a transfer. I think he's a good player from UConn. I think they hadn't recruited tight ends before, so it was smart of them to go get a guy. But I think the quarterbacks are really athletic, like you would expect. (No.) 8, (Tobias) Oliver is really fast, scary fast.Â
"So, they're doing a good job. And they give you a lot of stuff. It's a lot of runs, and they're spreading you out and getting the ball in space. I think they're doing a good job."
On defense, Georgia Tech has allowed 254.5 rushing yards per game, by far the most in the ACC. But opponents are averaging just 136.8 passing yards, the lowest mark in the conference. Longo said those numbers go hand in hand.
"It's deceiving because a lot of people have chosen to run the ball on them," he said. "So, they're running the ball a lot. That helps their pass defense. I think we're going to do what we always do. We're going to try to establish the running game and we're going to try to establish the line of scrimmage. And beyond that, if they give something up, we're going to try to take it.Â
"If that means through the air, it'll be through the air. If they're going to let us run the football all day, then we're going to run the football. It's hard to tell you what we're going to do game plan-wise until we get out there on Saturday, because really what they do dictates where we're going to attack."
Immediately after North Carolina's 21-20 loss against Clemson on Saturday, Mack Brown said he wasn't into moral victories.
But speaking with reporters for the first time since then during his press conference on Monday, the Hall of Fame head coach said that doesn't mean there aren't things that the Tar Heels can build off heading into this Saturday's game at Georgia Tech.
"I think the thing that you look at is, if we lay down and don't play after this, then we didn't learn," Brown said. "If we use it again to continue to grow and build, then we really learned something. It did send a message to our fan base that we're headed in the right direction. It did send a message to recruits that, if we can get Clemson down to one play, we're going to be good in the future, so you'd better jump on now because this train is taking off. So, if you want to be part of this, come on.Â
"If you get beat 45-10, that's a hard message. So, I think everything came out of Saturday good, except we lost by one point.
Here are five more notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:
2-point talk
Two days removed from saying going for the 2-point conversion gave Carolina the best chance to beat Clemson, Brown doubled down on that decision Monday.
"We felt like a one-play shot was better than taking a chance," Brown said, "and then taking a chance on having them kick a field goal because they had already missed one, and then taking a depleted defense into overtime. The play that we ran was a zone-read. You've got an opportunity to hand it to Javonte Williams, you've got an opportunity for your quarterback to keep it and you've got an opportunity to pitch it to Dazz Newsome, all three really good players.Â
"When a play call doesn't work, the play-caller gets criticized. Even my 8-year-old grandson said, 'Why that play, pops?' I said, 'OK, Tyler, let it go, bud.' But even he said it.'"
Longo later expanded on the reasoning behind the triple-option play.
"Every week we put together a goal-line play list, and usually your two best goal-line play list plays, maybe your three best, are your choices for the 2-point play," Longo said. "We had one that we were going to run out of our base offense in trips, but we scored with the RB in one game this year. The other one that we ran, that same play was the touchdown catch that won the Miami game.Â
"So, we had that play produce two touchdowns for us in two of the last four games, and Clemson has such an excellent staff, and I just felt like that wasn't going to be the right call at the 3-yard line, because what they do defensively, it can create some issues at the 3. We like that play maybe from the 7 or the 10. But that was one of the calls. The reason we didn't go with it is I just think they had their guys coached up. They knew that we ran that twice, and it was productive for us down there. So, it really was the third choice.Â
"The second choice was the play we ran and the first choice for us as the 2-point play, we exhausted that trying to score. That was the catch that (Jake) Bargas caught, the great catch on the 1-inch line. So, that would have been my first choice as the 2-point play."
Many people suggested after the game that the play the Tar Heels ran was the same one they used to convert a 2-point try against South Carolina. Longo said it wasn't. In that game, he said they ran a straight speed option.
Sending a message
Brown's decision to attempt the 2-point conversion shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. UNC is 9-for-11 on fourth downs and 3-for-4 on 2-point conversions, and those numbers reflect a message that Brown is sending to his players, recruits and fans.
"We're going to be aggressive," he said. "I'm at a stage in my life where I don't care about anything but winning and doing it within the rules. So, if anybody wants to criticize me, who cares? I don't care. I'm not looking for another job. I think the biggest thing is it's freedom to be this age and to have won this many games and be able to do what you think is best for your team. …
"For the kids, I want them to know I came back to help them win. It would've been less criticism on me if I had kicked the extra point and let it play out. Then if we lose, 'Oh, we just were a little short.' I wanted to win."
Longo said Brown's aggressiveness changes how he sometimes calls third downs. For example, if Carolina is facing third-and-8 at a certain point in a game, he might call a play that'll pick up five or six yards, knowing he has four downs to work with. Going for 2, he said, was "in theme with the way he's called just about every game."
"It's based on some statistical analysis," Longo said, "but it's also based on the fact that he has confidence in our players, both on the offensive side and on the defensive side, and he has confidence in the plan that the staff comes up with each week. He's going to try to win every football game, and I don't think you'll see that change. That's his philosophy and that's our staff's philosophy."
Heck's heroics
After missing the Appalachian State game due to a broken right hand, Charlie Heck returned for the Clemson game and played all 65 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).Â
Although the Tigers' front seven might not be as terrifying as it was last season, they still possess plenty of talent. And even with his hand in a cast, Heck more than held his own, posting a career-best 89.9 pass-blocking grade, according to PFF. But that's not the only way he helped.
"Charlie helped us physically on the field, but Charlie also, just his presence on the sideline and his leadership and the fact that he was back," Longo said. "There's an incredible value in Charlie off the field, as well, and I thought we kind of felt that on Saturday, too, especially with the offensive line."
When he asked doctors if Heck could damage his hand any more by playing, Brown said they told him "absolutely not." Still, Brown said Heck's decision to play was entirely up to the redshirt senior.Â
Most NFL prospects, Brown said, wouldn't have played. But that thought never seemed to cross Heck's mind. That Heck did play and performed as well as he did will surely be something Brown will mention when NFL scouts ask him about Heck going forward.
"He could've laid down," Brown said. "It would've been safer and easier for him not to play. And he's playing against the best talent in the country, and it's good for (scouts) to see him play against the best talent in the country, when he didn't have to, with one hand. So, I think he really, really helped his stock on Saturday."
Dorn's smartsÂ
With Myles Wolfolk sidelined against Clemson due to an injury, Brown said Myles Dorn rotated between the two safety spots depending on whether Don Chapman or Cam'Ron Kelly was in the game. How Dorn handled that led Brown to call him "a hero" on Monday.
Bateman has previously described Dorn and Wolfolk as "elite smart," and Dorn's play on Saturday backed that up.
"I love Myles Dorn," Bateman said. "I told him (last) Monday, when we found out (Wolfolk) definitely wasn't going to play, 'Hey, look, you've got to be able to play these two spots.' And then we're getting ready for the game, Dre (Bly) said, 'Who's going to be our third nickel?' And I was like, 'Myles, you better be ready for that, too.'
"Myles is really smart. I actually think the boundary safety is probably where he's a more natural fit for. All the NFL guys, when I talk with them, that's what they think about him is he's a guy who can get more involved in the run. Really smart. So, I'm glad he's there. He's going to have to carry his weight a little bit with some of these young guys out there these next few weeks."
Scouting Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech enters Saturday's contest at 1-3, with its lone win coming against USF. The Yellow Jackets dropped their season opener at Clemson, 52-14, and are coming off back-to-back losses against The Citadel and Temple.
Brown said Georgia Tech "ran into a buzzsaw" in the Owls on Saturday, considering that was their first game against their former coach Geoff Collins, who is in his first season as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets.
"Last week was a complete ambush, because I've done that," Brown said. "But Geoff going back to Temple, right after he recruited all those players, they were going to be after him. So, that one was one that when I came back in here (in 2002 as the head coach at Texas), it wasn't a lot of fun. There were a lot of people who liked to beat us. I knew that one was going to be a tough one for him. But they'll be ready to play."
Collins and his staff have moved away from the triple-option offense that Georgia Tech ran under former head coach Paul Johnson. But Brown said the Yellow Jackets have "kept enough of the option principles" in the new system. Bateman agreed.
"You see there are some pieces that," Bateman said. "They've got the tight end, a transfer. I think he's a good player from UConn. I think they hadn't recruited tight ends before, so it was smart of them to go get a guy. But I think the quarterbacks are really athletic, like you would expect. (No.) 8, (Tobias) Oliver is really fast, scary fast.Â
"So, they're doing a good job. And they give you a lot of stuff. It's a lot of runs, and they're spreading you out and getting the ball in space. I think they're doing a good job."
On defense, Georgia Tech has allowed 254.5 rushing yards per game, by far the most in the ACC. But opponents are averaging just 136.8 passing yards, the lowest mark in the conference. Longo said those numbers go hand in hand.
"It's deceiving because a lot of people have chosen to run the ball on them," he said. "So, they're running the ball a lot. That helps their pass defense. I think we're going to do what we always do. We're going to try to establish the running game and we're going to try to establish the line of scrimmage. And beyond that, if they give something up, we're going to try to take it.Â
"If that means through the air, it'll be through the air. If they're going to let us run the football all day, then we're going to run the football. It's hard to tell you what we're going to do game plan-wise until we get out there on Saturday, because really what they do dictates where we're going to attack."
Players Mentioned
Defensive Back
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Offensive Line
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Defensive Back
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Wide Receiver
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Running Back
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Defensive Back
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