UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi joined 97.9 The Hill this morning for “The Monday Morning Huddle,” presented by Chapel Hill Tire.
The Tar Heels are now 1-1 overall two weeks into the season, following a 48-14 loss to TCU on opening night and a 20-3 win at Charlotte Saturday. Now, UNC returns home to host FCS opponent Richmond at Kenan Stadium this coming Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Here are a few of Lombardi’s answers on various topics:
On the progress he saw between the TCU and Charlotte games: Ultimately, everything you do when it comes to football is evaluating why you win, why you lose, and you have to be honest in both areas. It was good to get a W certainly, but there’s room for improvement. I thought our team came back on a short week and with a rain delay, having to wait for the game and played well enough to win the game. But certainly there’s a lot of room for improvement, something we strive for. There’s a standard of excellence that Coach Belichick preaches that we’re gonna keep trying to reach. And certainly after two games and 25 practices, it’s hard to get there right away.
On the pregame festivities in Chapel Hill this Saturday: We’re gonna do it again. We’ll have musical acts. I think everything’s gonna happen again and it probably will be a beautiful day on Saturday. We’re not quite to fall, but the weather feels like fall and so it’s a great day to come out, watch college football, support the team and watch us grow. I think one of the things you measure with football is the growth of your team. No team starts out the year where it’s gonna end the year. Heck, I beat Pittsburgh [with the Cleveland Browns] in 1989, we opened up the season and we beat them 51-0, and then six weeks later they beat us 17-7. So it’s not really how you start, it’s how you prepare and how you get better each and every day. Yesterday, all our players that didn’t participate in the Charlotte game went out and had a full contact practice and loved it and embrace it. It was one of the best practices I’ve seen. So I think the enthusiasm with our football team is there. And with all the gameday events that we have planned through Rick Barakat and his department over at the university have done a tremendous job. So we’re looking forward to it.
On Gio Lopez’s performance at Charlotte: That’s what Gio did at South Alabama. You know, he’s never played under center before. I think this is the first time any offense has asked him to play under center, and he’s adapted to it and he’s done a really nice job. Last week against TCU, we really didn’t throw the ball much in the first half to get him into a rhythm. I think [against Charlotte], we went into the game wanting to get him in a rhythm. The first three passes he connected and we scored a touchdown. But Gio’s got a lot of skill. He’s a playmaker. And I think what fans saw on Saturday was his competitiveness. When we needed a play, he took responsibility to make the play. And I think that’s something you want from your quarterback.
Listen below for the full conversation with Michael Lombardi, and tune in to hear the segment live on Monday mornings each game week!
Featured image via Associated Press/Nell Redmond
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