The Mack Brown-Sam Howell Show is pretty darn good.
If the first-practice presser featuring Carolina’s star quarterback followed by head coach is any indication, both had all the right answers with the 2021 opener in Blacksburg 28 days away.
Howell said he doesn’t mind starting the highly anticipated season at dangerous Virginia Tech, where they blast Metallica’s ominous Enter Sandman upon the Hokies taking the field.
“It gives us more of a sense of urgency,” Howell said, pointing out that his first two college seasons began with South Carolina in Charlotte and Syracuse in Chapel Hill, both victories. “We have the mindset that no game is bigger than any other.”
He said his proclivity to get sacked (most of the team’s 67 in two years) “is a lot on me” and occasionally mistakes by receivers; but confirmed Brown’s summer long promise that Howell and his coaches were working hard to get rid of his happy feet and the ball earlier.
As for the NIL riches Howell is beginning to accumulate, he said “it’s not as much of a problem as some people make it. That part is about players taking care of themselves,” which he says pales to the overall selflessness of these Tar Heels.
The highlights of Brown’s 45-plus minutes at the mic (compared to Howell’s 15) were that he wants first-string players to take fewer snaps so they will be fresher in the fourth quarter than last season, and his third Carolina team (Part II) now has the depth to do that.
Recruiting is going great because he and the staff are battling “the best teams in the country” and to become a great program UNC must do that and win its share of those battles. “If in Year 4 we don’t have Sam, we still want to be a great program.” So far, so good there.
With all the offensive yardage lost, Brown agreed with pundits and fans that the key to the season will be how much the leaky defense from last year has improved. “We will be a better-looking team when we take the field,” he said. Then they have to prove it.
And they have the chops to win big games to reach their CFP dreams. “Eight of our 10 coaches have won a national championship or a Super Bowl,” he said. In other words, they are ready to do it.
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