UNC football head coach Mack Brown joined Aaron Keck this morning for “Mondays with Mack,” presented by Chapel Hill Tire.
The Tar Heels are busy with preparations for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game with South Carolina on December 30, but Brown still made time this month to sign a historic 2022 recruiting class, one which ranks in the nation’s top 10. Several players in that class have already arrived on campus as UNC practices for the Gamecocks.
Here are a few of Brown’s answers on various topics:
On his program’s schedule this month: Everybody starts watching these bowl games, they forget these young guys are practicing every day. We had a tremendous signing day. We really appreciate our players for recruiting so well, because that’s really what makes a difference in the end, is the players helping other young players feel good about coming here. But these guys have already practiced a lot. We’re sitting here today, going into the eighth practice for the bowl. Guys are working hard, they’ve been getting after it. You have kind of a combination for bowl practice… where you practice a lot of the young guys for spring practice, so we’ll actually have 14 practice sessions before the bowl game. And then you obviously try to get ready for South Carolina, as well.
On early enrollees in the 2022 recruiting class: If you graduate from high school and you are enrolling in January, you can actually come to bowl practice. You can’t be in pads, because you have to go through an orientation period, and they don’t have enough time to do that. Conner Harrell got here yesterday, and he actually practiced with us yesterday, the quarterback from Alabama. Beau Atkinson and Trevyon Green are here today. So they’ll all get three or four practices in, and the good thing is they have an opportunity to get in the meetings with the players, get on the field. They’re in shorts, but they can do some drills. So it just kind of is an anxiety break for them when they come in in January.
On how his players are feeling going into the bowl game: They’re doing well. COVID’s got everybody’s attention again obviously, and we’ve been fortunate. We haven’t had a player miss a game for COVID this year, and we’re hoping that we can get through the bowl game without having any COVID hit our team. Because it seems like the NFL, the NBA and a lot of other professional teams are having it change their schedules, and keep coaches and players from playing. So everybody be really, really safe out there. But the guys are excited about the game. South Carolina is 6-6, so it should be an even ballgame.
On his message to the fans: These seniors have done a phenomenal job. We were by far the worst team in the league three years ago when we got here. And for the first time since 2016, we will be going to the third bowl game in a row. So if all of our fans can show up in Charlotte and help send these seniors off right, it would be fitting. Because they’ve given us a chance to move forward from now. We’ve gone from worst, we were a little better than middle last year, but we lost great players to the NFL. I mean, Javonte Williams just by himself is taking over the NFL. He’s just been phenomenal. And we saw him do that here last year. And now we’re back to the middle of the pack, so it’s time for us to take another step, and try to get to the upper level of the ACC next year.
Listen below for the full conversation between Mack Brown and Aaron Keck, and tune in to hear the segment live on Monday mornings each game week!
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