Bicknell's first public address

[WoadBlue]

Came to UNC when Mack was first a Tar Heel as part of coaches group trying to learn from other staffs. Says he thinks it was 1989. If that is the case, Bicknell was at 1AA New Hampshire. Mack and UNC both made a big impression on him then.

Says he was greatly influenced by his dad (HC at BC) who wanted to do things the right way - says Mack is the same.

He really enjoyed his time with Longo at Ole Miss. He thinks what Longo wants to do offensively is great for him as OL coach. He learned in NFL it all had to be about business. In the NFL you do not try to motivate - they are expected to do it.

He and Longo recruited Barnes and Montilus to Ole Miss. He recruited Pounds.

He does cross train guys for flexibility. Not going to talk about any players after just seeing them one day.

He has not yet studied game film from last season, so he does not know specifically what the issues are. Biggest issue is to be disciplined on the OL - he intends to go after D-linemen. He intends aggressive OL. He will stress good pocket so QB can step up into it and feel comfortable.

Cannot get away with sloppy technique at this level.

Says of Zach Rice that he knows if you are a great young man like that, you'll end being a player.

 

[Deana_King]

 

[Archer2]

Loved that.

 

[WoadBlue]

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I was trying to note things he said, so I forgot which questions were asked by whom. Did I get a summary on here of his answer to your question?

 

[WoadBlue]

Loved that.

I agree. I found it an impressive debut among journalists covering UNC. And I think he was hinting at the basics he plans to improve on the OL.

1. Bicknell aint begging or bribing nobody to work hard, which also must mean that nobody has a halfway secure job. Players are expected to bring their own motivation to get better and to earn PT.

Back to at least Searels Texas time, fans have moaned that Searels very quickly picks Favorites and sticks with them until they leave, no matter how mediocre their play, game after game, year after year. That kind of coaching guarantees complacency among the Favorites.

2. Bicknell knows that technique is a required, which surely means he knows how bad the Searels OL foot work has been, and also how lacking in consistency in all fundamentals the Searels OL has been.

Related to the above is that Ezeudu at the NFL Combine is down more than 15 pounds from the weight Searels had him playing at. Also going back to Texas days is the joke that Searels loves the fattest guys and rewards weight over any OL technique.

 

[Deana_King]

Bicknell, Jr, on prior recruiting relationships with current Tar Heel players:

"I pretty much knew about all of them. The issue of a player like Zach (Rice), they have their own interests so you don't get very far down the road with some of those guys (in recruiting). But the guys that I really recruited, Diego Pounds I recruited, had many zoom calls during the COVID years. William Barnes and Ed Montilus I was recruiting hard with Phil, we were in their homes and things. So it is kind of a nice reunion. And it's kind of crazy how now I'm glad we didn't get them because I wouldn't be coaching them. It's kind of crazy how this business works.”