The Atlantic Coast Conference held its ACC Kickoff media event last week to mark the start of the college football season. Each of the conference’s 14 football programs, including UNC, spoke to members of the press about their goals for the fall amid a return to fans in the stands and a new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Entering Brown’s third year once again leading the team, the Tar Heels are among those considered to be favorites to win the ACC Coastal Division and be considered for larger postseason bowl games, after taking a trip to the Orange Bowl in the 2020 campaign.
Here are some of the top comments made by Brown, as well as the three UNC players who attended the ACC Kickoff event, about the 2021 season during the ACC Network press conference.
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Mack Brown on opening at Virginia Tech: “We’ve gotten a tremendous amount of publicity, we’ve been kind of a media darling. So, let’s keep our mouths shut now and go see if we’re any good.”
The UNC head coach addressed the preseason hype surrounding his team several times during his time at the podium, at one point brushing off his shoulders to knock off the “sugar thrown all over us” from analysts and press. The Tar Heels have little leeway to work out any early-season kinks in their roster or game plan, since they open against ACC-foe Virginia Tech on the road on Friday, September 3.
Brown said he sees positives and negatives to opening against a conference opponent versus playing an easier, non-conference team. But after losing in six overtimes the last time UNC took a trip to Blacksburg, as well as winning in a 56-45 shootout against Virginia Tech last year, Brown said he believes the team showed some real excitement during the summer as players looked ahead to the fall’s first game.
As far as discussions go around being projected to face Clemson in the ACC Championship game and being a darkhorse candidate to be in the College Football Playoff, Brown made it clear his focus is on the early portion of Carolina’s schedule.
“We basically have a three game season,” said the head coach. “That’s what I’ve told the players: ‘I’ll start talking to you more [about the national college football landscape] after three games if you haven’t lost a game.'”
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Mack Brown: “We’re not at 85 percent for herd immunity with our entire team yet.”
While the 2021 fall sports season will see a return to a more traditional fan experience, players’ experiences may still be affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With the delta variant of the virus causing increases in hospitalizations and new cases in North Carolina, players and programs alike are being encouraged to get their vaccinations against the virus.
As deemed by leading health officials, one of the lower possible thresholds for safety against COVID-19 is if 85 percent of a group of people is vaccinated against COVID-19, creating a herd immunity effect. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips acknowledged that benchmark is one the conference is monitoring for its football programs when speaking last Wednesday, saying more than half of the ACC’s football teams are above 85 percent vaccinated.
Brown said the fact his program is not at that mark yet could create some changes to the team’s preparation and meetings this fall, unlike programs who have that vaccination rate. He described there being a “great plan in place” to aim for every space in the Kenan Football Center to maintain a vaccination rate of 85 percent until that threshold is reached by the team. Brown also said the Tar Heels are “getting really close” to hitting that benchmark.
The UNC head coach himself has been an advocate for receiving the COVID-19 vaccines and acknowledged Wednesday the challenges arising from positive cases in the MLB, NBA and the Olympics. Brown said Wednesday his coaching staff will continue to urge members of the team to get their vaccinations, but said it’s ultimately up to each individual.
“Some, as we know, across our country and our world do not want to get it,” said Brown. “We understand that, that’s fair. Our job is to educate, their job is to make personal decisions. That’s the way we do for the NFL [and] that’s the way we do with everyone in our program.”
It is unclear yet what the ACC will do if teams experience a COVID-19 outbreak during the season. While UNC avoiding having any games canceled in 2020 because of outbreaks among the Tar Heels, several games were either postponed or canceled because of opponents recovering from the virus.
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Sam Howell on name, image and likeness: “I think the main thing for me is I just want to make sure I keep the main thing the main thing. And that’s winning football games.”
Another aspect of the 2021 football season that is seemingly ever-changing: the new landscape for athletes to earn name, image and likeness-related benefits. After the NCAA waived its policies at the start of July without establishing a broad set of rules, different states and conferences have approached NIL guidance differently.
Quarterback Sam Howell is coming off two impressive seasons behind center for UNC. He led the ACC in touchdown passes and passing yards in 2020 and his 68 total passing touchdowns are tied for the most through a sophomore season in ACC history. A major talent at one of the most important positions, Howell stands to gain more than many other student-athletes in Carolina Athletics from making business partnerships and endorsements.
While he did announce a deal with the fast food chain Bojangles while in Charlotte, Howell said he believes it is crucial to keep the business side of the sport away from the field.
“I’ve hired a marketing team on my behalf. They’ve done a good job of lifting the weight of my shoulders and the school’s been supportive,” said the junior. “I think there’s a good place for it, [but] I just want to make sure as a team we keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s winning football games.”
Brown also said Howell has been vocal about this in the locker room. The UNC head coach said while he initially was not in favor of the change, he has since changed his mind and is searching for ways with Carolina Athletics to help all players in the program benefit from NIL rights. Some of that may come through the group licensing program launched between UNC and the Brandr Group ahead of ACC Kickoff.
Something that could help Howell’s NIL endorsement prospects? Winning the Heisman Trophy, which he currently has relatively favorable odds to do, according to SportsLine and DraftKings. Brown said Wednesday, though, that whether its awards or business endorsements, the expectation is for UNC players to maintain their on-field product.
“We’ve said whether it’s name image and likeness or whether it’s the awards you’re going to get,” said Brown, “it’s about your ball [and] it’s not about your brand. Sam’s going to play great, if we play well enough as a team around him and we have a chance to win a lot of games, he’ll be right in the mix for that Heisman thing no matter what we say or what we do.”
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Mack Brown on Ty Chandler: “We think he’s kind of the guy that fits between Javonte Willliams and Michael Carter… We’ve got to find some other guys with him, but we think he has a chance to step up and be a special player for us.”
One way the UNC program found success in Brown and Howell’s first two seasons together was relying on the dynamic, veteran running back duo of Javonte Williams and Michael Carter. With both now on NFL rosters, the lead running back position seemed unclear coming into the spring.
Brown’s comments from Wednesday, however, indicate the coaching staff value Ty Chandler as a key addition to their offense. While he largely did not play in spring ball, which the head coach attributed to Chandler “getting hit by all those Georgia, Alabama and Florida players the last four years,” the Tennessee starter was a focus for Carolina once Chandler entered the transfer portal after several productive seasons as a Volunteer.
Brown said Chandler’s ability to run between the tackles while maintaining speed in open space will make him a threat in Carolina’s offense. Having tallied 1,200 yards over four years from receiving and special teams, the transfer may also help replace some of the lost production in Howell’s short passing game. Who comes into the backfield to replace Chandler still remains to be seen, but the UNC quarterback indicated there are several young players looking to take on the mantle of the #2 running back.
“That running back room, they’re so hungry,” said Howell. “They’re competing with each other, they all have a chip on their shoulder because everyone’s still talking about Michael and Javonte.”
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Jeremiah Gemmel on the depth at defensive back: “That’s a good problem to have in our corner room that I don’t think we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
While its potent offense found success in 2020, the defensive side of the ball for UNC saw challenges with injuries, lack of depth and getting stops in the red zone. This year, though, the Tar Heel defense returns all but one starter after linebacker Chazz Surratt was drafted to the NFL.
One position that has past been an Achilles heel for Carolina may now be a strength: the defensive backs. While veteran players either left the program or missed time from injuries, backs like juniors Don Chapman and Kyler McMichael showed they can defend top receivers or protect downfield. Younger players like rising junior Storm Duck and rising sophomore Tony Grimes and rising junior Cam’Ron Kelly each had highlight moments as well.
Senior linebacker and team captain Jeremiah Gemmel’s comments during ACC Kickoff helped highlight this chance for defensive backs to become anchors of UNC’s defensive identity.
“We have corners that we can rotate all around the field and that’s something big in our defense,” said Gemmel. “We leave our corners on an island a lot, so when they’re running on go balls and they come back tired, it’s so easy for a Storm Duck or a Kyler McMichael to pop in there and give you 100 percent [with no drop in talent.]”
The inside linebacker position also appears to have good depth. In addition to Gemmel, junior Eugene Asante will likely adopt a bigger role, after tallying a game-high ten tackles against Texas A&M in last year’s Orange Bowl as he started in place of Surratt. The freshman duo of Power Echols and Raneira ‘Rara’ Dillworth arrive in Chapel Hill with accolades. Plus: UNC has lots of talent at outside linebacker, including one player looking to climb further in the record books.
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Tomon Fox on Lawrence Taylor: “I think it’s an honor to even have my name brought up in the conversation like LT.”
UNC fans might not think of Tar Heel football legend Lawrence Taylor when they see graduate student Tomon Fox on the field. But as the outside linebacker enters his sixth season in the Carolina program, he is tied with Taylor for fifth all-time in program history for total sacks.
“[Taylor] is someone I looked up to once I started playing on the defensive side of the ball,” said Fox. “People like him, like Julious Peppers…they’re just people I idolized. To have my name up there with theirs, is just something [great for me to see.]”
As one of the most veteran leaders of the team, Fox will bring a steady presence to the defense. If he maintains his level of production from 2020, which included seven sacks and starting all 12 games, it will anchor a pass rush UNC relied on frequently to ease the burden on its downfield defensive backs. It also gives a chance for younger defensive lineman, like sophomore Desmond Evans and incoming freshman Keeshawn Silver, to learn behind an experienced player while also not being burdened with the main role of pressuring the quarterback.
Fox did acknowledge, though, that he hopes to not stay beside Taylor in the record books for long.
“Once I eventually pass him, hopefully in the first game, it’ll be something in the memory books,” he said.
Fox is also just four sacks away from passing Quinton Coples and Marcus Jones, who are tied for third in sacks, and is also tied for seventh in program history for tackles for loss.
Photo via Jim Dedmon / USA TODAY Sports.
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