University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Tre Boston Q&A
March 25, 2020 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
A day removed from officially signing a three-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, former North Carolina safety Tre Boston took the time to speak with GoHeels.com's Pat James on Friday.
Among the many topics they discussed during their 20-minute conversation was the upward trajectory of the UNC football program. Here's what Boston had to say about it, as well as Mack Brown and fellow "Rude Boy" Dre Bly.
Q: What's impressed you the most about Mack Brown and what he's been able to do in his year and a half in Chapel Hill?
Tre Boston: Shoot, what doesn't (impress me) is probably the easier (question). One thing I knew when Mack Brown came in was that recruiting would go back to where it needed to be. That's the one spot I knew, being there through many coaches, had hurt us. I knew when Mack Brown came back he'd be able to change that and the culture. For him to not only change the locker rooms, the outdoor facility, the turf, to see everything just build around Mack and then for him to go out there and have a good season – and we all know it could have been different. Playing in this game, those losses by six points or less, they stack up. But it's amazing to see that the future is bright and people are buying into the culture here and what Mack's able to do.Â
And we've won back the state. Now, these kids when they're coming out of high school, they're saying, "I want to go to North Carolina." As they should. The best play at the University of North Carolina. To see Mack do that, recruiting big-time guys and getting back to when (we were) getting five-stars and four-stars, like I remember coming into the locker room and feeling like, "Man, these guys are NFL players. Wow." … You kind of saw that diminish a little bit. I knew Mack would be able to bring that back. We have an NFL locker room and we're just building it; he's just getting started. To see the recruiting class he has coming in not only this year but next year and then the talent they already have there, the future is very bright. I like what Mack is doing. It gives the guys in the league and guys who have been around, the alums, a reason to come back because of the tradition and the family atmosphere that they're building.
Q: He said right off the bat how he wanted to make the Carolina Football Family a big thing. How important was it for him to take those steps and reach out to the guys from different eras and make it more of a family?
TB: That's what you want as a player. When you're done with the game, you want to have a family to come back to, guys who you shed tears with for three to five years and then all of sudden you get to come back later and still have fun with these same guys and have memories and have a culture with coaches and employees who have stuck around. I think for a long time we've had overturn, and it's hard to keep that family when guys can't come back and feel like they're a part of a family. That's what Mack's about. Mack's been here; he built the culture. And you see how prevalent the culture is at the University of Texas. He understood, "If we're going to get this done the right way, I've got to go back to my roots of getting the foundation back to where it needs to be."
Q: You talked about how well recruiting is going. Guys are coming in now who every school in the country is recruiting, and the program's name is being mentioned alongside Clemson and many other major programs. Being in the locker room with guys from Clemson, Ohio State and other major football schools, is that something you talk about a lot?
TB: Yeah, we pick fun at it. Especially being in the league, we understand the fun is different than playing. But it's definitely fun to go into the locker room and let these guys know that the future is bright. Clemson, hey, that was a one-point game. So, to be able to talk to these guys and let them know we've got something bright, especially having a bright quarterback and backup quarterbacks. We're just getting guys after guys, and this is how you create a dynasty. This is how you create a culture of, "This is what the University of North Carolina is about." And I love to see it.
Q: How often were you able to watch the games this past fall?
TB: I caught most of the games. Luckily I'm back here in North Carolina, and they play on the regular channels. So, I caught most of them. A lot of close ones. I think every loss we had was by seven points or less, I want to believe. And that's promising. That is promising, especially when you have the group of kids that we had. So, to see that and build off that and to know how close we are, it gives you, I would say, encouragement of this being a program of prestige. This is the University of North Carolina, and Mack is bringing that back.
Q: What sort of relationship do you have with Dre Bly?
TB: That's my guy. I've had his number and texted with him since my freshman year in college. He's been one of the guys who when you talk about a culture and North Carolina, it's hard not to mention Dre Bly because he's always been about that family culture.
Q: He's obviously been as big a proponent as anybody for the "Rude Boys" mindset. Do you see guys playing with that mindset more in the secondary last year than maybe in recent years?
TB: I don't think it ever left, but when it starts from the top, when it starts with the coaches letting y'all know this is how we are, it's more prevalent. When I was there, we had our thing. The same breakdown that Dre had we still had; I was breaking us down the same way. I just think that, again, when you have the man, the culture of the "Rude Boys" right there in your face, it's hard not to turn up a little bit more. I think that's what brings it out a little bit more and more these years.
Q: When he was hired, he hadn't coached at this level yet, but a lot of people thought he could be successful. Has what he done surprised you at all?
TB: No, not at all. You're talking about an (11)-year vet in the league, so that means he went through college with different coaches, that means he's gone through the league with different coaches. The man has seen how it's done. He's a DB coach, but not only that, the man can recruit his butt off and the man is a people person and a straight shooter. He's never lied to the kids. I've had processes in free agency where Dre has called me up and just talked to me about being serious. That's what I love about him. To have Dre there, it means the world to UNC because he is the start of not only the "Rude Boys," but when we talk about family culture, this guy is all about it.
Q: Did you hear from him during this free-agency period?
TB: Yeah, well, it was after because I signed pretty early. But just congratulations. He let me know I'm going to be the leader of this group and it's my time to take over. It's been due time. He's known for years that my time was going to come, but it's God's time. So to be ready to lead these young men. It's just the start of a new culture. So, for me, it's going in there and taking his words and understanding that I'm the honcho of that DB room and those guys are going to run off me. So, you've got to be able to take that.
Q: When you look back on your time in Chapel Hill, is there any specific memory that really sticks out?
TB: Graduating. If you're talking about just one memory, graduating. That was one of the biggest things growing up. My mother would tell me she couldn't pay for my education and I had to go out there and grind and get it myself. There were a million other kids who wanted it just as bad I did, so what was I doing different to want it more? How hard was I working? To go there to a prestigious university in the University of North Carolina and come out with a degree, it means the most to me. If you asked me more detailed on times and games and fun, I could detail it up. But if we're talking about one memory, I would say graduating because it's done a lot for me. Even though I play the game of football still, the love that the community of North Carolina gets around the world, but especially here in Charlotte, it doesn't get better than that. That's what I'm thankful for. That's the memory I look back on.
A day removed from officially signing a three-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, former North Carolina safety Tre Boston took the time to speak with GoHeels.com's Pat James on Friday.
Among the many topics they discussed during their 20-minute conversation was the upward trajectory of the UNC football program. Here's what Boston had to say about it, as well as Mack Brown and fellow "Rude Boy" Dre Bly.
Q: What's impressed you the most about Mack Brown and what he's been able to do in his year and a half in Chapel Hill?
Tre Boston: Shoot, what doesn't (impress me) is probably the easier (question). One thing I knew when Mack Brown came in was that recruiting would go back to where it needed to be. That's the one spot I knew, being there through many coaches, had hurt us. I knew when Mack Brown came back he'd be able to change that and the culture. For him to not only change the locker rooms, the outdoor facility, the turf, to see everything just build around Mack and then for him to go out there and have a good season – and we all know it could have been different. Playing in this game, those losses by six points or less, they stack up. But it's amazing to see that the future is bright and people are buying into the culture here and what Mack's able to do.Â
And we've won back the state. Now, these kids when they're coming out of high school, they're saying, "I want to go to North Carolina." As they should. The best play at the University of North Carolina. To see Mack do that, recruiting big-time guys and getting back to when (we were) getting five-stars and four-stars, like I remember coming into the locker room and feeling like, "Man, these guys are NFL players. Wow." … You kind of saw that diminish a little bit. I knew Mack would be able to bring that back. We have an NFL locker room and we're just building it; he's just getting started. To see the recruiting class he has coming in not only this year but next year and then the talent they already have there, the future is very bright. I like what Mack is doing. It gives the guys in the league and guys who have been around, the alums, a reason to come back because of the tradition and the family atmosphere that they're building.
Q: He said right off the bat how he wanted to make the Carolina Football Family a big thing. How important was it for him to take those steps and reach out to the guys from different eras and make it more of a family?
TB: That's what you want as a player. When you're done with the game, you want to have a family to come back to, guys who you shed tears with for three to five years and then all of sudden you get to come back later and still have fun with these same guys and have memories and have a culture with coaches and employees who have stuck around. I think for a long time we've had overturn, and it's hard to keep that family when guys can't come back and feel like they're a part of a family. That's what Mack's about. Mack's been here; he built the culture. And you see how prevalent the culture is at the University of Texas. He understood, "If we're going to get this done the right way, I've got to go back to my roots of getting the foundation back to where it needs to be."
Q: You talked about how well recruiting is going. Guys are coming in now who every school in the country is recruiting, and the program's name is being mentioned alongside Clemson and many other major programs. Being in the locker room with guys from Clemson, Ohio State and other major football schools, is that something you talk about a lot?
TB: Yeah, we pick fun at it. Especially being in the league, we understand the fun is different than playing. But it's definitely fun to go into the locker room and let these guys know that the future is bright. Clemson, hey, that was a one-point game. So, to be able to talk to these guys and let them know we've got something bright, especially having a bright quarterback and backup quarterbacks. We're just getting guys after guys, and this is how you create a dynasty. This is how you create a culture of, "This is what the University of North Carolina is about." And I love to see it.
Q: How often were you able to watch the games this past fall?
TB: I caught most of the games. Luckily I'm back here in North Carolina, and they play on the regular channels. So, I caught most of them. A lot of close ones. I think every loss we had was by seven points or less, I want to believe. And that's promising. That is promising, especially when you have the group of kids that we had. So, to see that and build off that and to know how close we are, it gives you, I would say, encouragement of this being a program of prestige. This is the University of North Carolina, and Mack is bringing that back.
Q: What sort of relationship do you have with Dre Bly?
TB: That's my guy. I've had his number and texted with him since my freshman year in college. He's been one of the guys who when you talk about a culture and North Carolina, it's hard not to mention Dre Bly because he's always been about that family culture.
Q: He's obviously been as big a proponent as anybody for the "Rude Boys" mindset. Do you see guys playing with that mindset more in the secondary last year than maybe in recent years?
TB: I don't think it ever left, but when it starts from the top, when it starts with the coaches letting y'all know this is how we are, it's more prevalent. When I was there, we had our thing. The same breakdown that Dre had we still had; I was breaking us down the same way. I just think that, again, when you have the man, the culture of the "Rude Boys" right there in your face, it's hard not to turn up a little bit more. I think that's what brings it out a little bit more and more these years.
Q: When he was hired, he hadn't coached at this level yet, but a lot of people thought he could be successful. Has what he done surprised you at all?
TB: No, not at all. You're talking about an (11)-year vet in the league, so that means he went through college with different coaches, that means he's gone through the league with different coaches. The man has seen how it's done. He's a DB coach, but not only that, the man can recruit his butt off and the man is a people person and a straight shooter. He's never lied to the kids. I've had processes in free agency where Dre has called me up and just talked to me about being serious. That's what I love about him. To have Dre there, it means the world to UNC because he is the start of not only the "Rude Boys," but when we talk about family culture, this guy is all about it.
Q: Did you hear from him during this free-agency period?
TB: Yeah, well, it was after because I signed pretty early. But just congratulations. He let me know I'm going to be the leader of this group and it's my time to take over. It's been due time. He's known for years that my time was going to come, but it's God's time. So to be ready to lead these young men. It's just the start of a new culture. So, for me, it's going in there and taking his words and understanding that I'm the honcho of that DB room and those guys are going to run off me. So, you've got to be able to take that.
Q: When you look back on your time in Chapel Hill, is there any specific memory that really sticks out?
TB: Graduating. If you're talking about just one memory, graduating. That was one of the biggest things growing up. My mother would tell me she couldn't pay for my education and I had to go out there and grind and get it myself. There were a million other kids who wanted it just as bad I did, so what was I doing different to want it more? How hard was I working? To go there to a prestigious university in the University of North Carolina and come out with a degree, it means the most to me. If you asked me more detailed on times and games and fun, I could detail it up. But if we're talking about one memory, I would say graduating because it's done a lot for me. Even though I play the game of football still, the love that the community of North Carolina gets around the world, but especially here in Charlotte, it doesn't get better than that. That's what I'm thankful for. That's the memory I look back on.
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