North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora took part in the weekly ACC Teleconference on Wednesday. Here is a transcript of what he had to say:
Opening statement…
COACH FEDORA: We're basically working on the fundamentals of the game of football. We're emphasizing improvement with our team not really focusing on anybody else and that's how we're using the open week this week.
Q. You just hit on it, but with your focus on your guys this week, does your coaching staff kind of take this opportunity to get a jump-start on game planning against Virginia Tech?
COACH FEDORA: Well, we're always going to try to get ahead, especially when you've got an open week before you play a team. I mean, that's the nice thing about having an open week; that you get a little bit more time. You can spend a little bit more time breaking down the team, other than a couple of days that you normally get in a week.
So, yes, we do do that. At the same time as we're working on the fundamentals and the development of our team.
Q. Along that same topic, a little bit of a strange question, but will you watch the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game Saturday night on TV? I know you guys don't get as much out of that as you do the full tape. But will you watch that game?
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, I'll probably watch some of that game. I don't know if I'll watch all of it. But I'll definitely be tuned into that game and I'll watch quite a few games, because it's the only time that I have an opportunity to watch any football.
So, yeah, we'll watch that. We'll get a film in and we'll break it down when we get it. But to answer your question, yes, I will watch it.
Q. Dazz Newsome is a local kid for us. Just curious how you would evaluate his progress as a sophomore this season?
COACH FEDORA: Well, first of all Dazz came in played for us as a true freshman last year and he played both ways in high school. We brought him in here to possibly play corner for us and then we had a need for him over on the offensive side of the ball so we put him in there.
And the kid showed that he is very -- he can be very explosive with the ball in his hands. He's got a knack for yards after the catch. He does a really good job of that. I would say he's probably as good as anybody on our team with the ball in his hands after the catch, you know?
So he's learning the nuances of the receiver position, and I think he's come a long way in a year.
Q. Once you moved him from corner, you never looked back?
COACH FEDORA: No, we never looked back. He's got too much value to us with the ball in his hands. I mean, he can do so many things. You know, he's done a really good job on our punt return unit. He got in a kickoff return the other night and did a nice job.
He's made plays with the ball in his hands on the offense. So we're going to continue to utilize him.
Q. With the rise of Syracuse, Boston College is ranked and Duke's been ranked, does that lend more parity to the league than in the past?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I think our league is extremely strong, from top to bottom, I really do. And I do think there's a lot of parity in the league.
I think that you've got a lot of really good coaches in this league in both divisions and I think all of them are doing a tremendous job.
Q. Tough loss last Thursday night to Miami. How good is that Miami defense? Have they improved over the years?
COACH FEDORA: Oh, yeah, I think they're very good. They're really good up front. Their linebackers, you know, have been starting for now I think going on their third year. I think they're good players. I think they've got good guys on the back end. And I think Manny does a good job with them creating tackles for loss up front and putting you in long-yardage situations.
So we just did -- we did a poor job of taking care of the football the other night. We felt like we had some success running the ball. We were efficient running the ball, but when you turn it over as many times as we did, we just didn't give ourselves a chance.
Q. I know this week is a bye week but two weeks ago hurricane made it an official bye, do you wish you guys were playing this weekend just to keep everything going?
COACH FEDORA: I would love to get that 12th game in. I didn't think we were going to be able to get it in this weekend because of the way the schedule was set up, but who knows what will happen in the future. But we need as much work as we can possibly get right now.
Q. More of a citizenship than a football question today. With the elections in November coming up, do you feel a responsibility to encourage your players to register to vote?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I tell you, I feel responsibility to grow these young men into men. And when they leave here it is my responsibility that they are better men than they were when they got here; they're better fathers; they're better husbands; they're just better people.
And part of that, I think, is the understanding, the responsibility of your voice.
And so we do talk to the guys about that. And I think it is important for them to understand that they do have a voice and that they can make a change if they want to. And so we do encourage them to do that.
Opening statement…
COACH FEDORA: We're basically working on the fundamentals of the game of football. We're emphasizing improvement with our team not really focusing on anybody else and that's how we're using the open week this week.
Q. You just hit on it, but with your focus on your guys this week, does your coaching staff kind of take this opportunity to get a jump-start on game planning against Virginia Tech?
COACH FEDORA: Well, we're always going to try to get ahead, especially when you've got an open week before you play a team. I mean, that's the nice thing about having an open week; that you get a little bit more time. You can spend a little bit more time breaking down the team, other than a couple of days that you normally get in a week.
So, yes, we do do that. At the same time as we're working on the fundamentals and the development of our team.
Q. Along that same topic, a little bit of a strange question, but will you watch the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game Saturday night on TV? I know you guys don't get as much out of that as you do the full tape. But will you watch that game?
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, I'll probably watch some of that game. I don't know if I'll watch all of it. But I'll definitely be tuned into that game and I'll watch quite a few games, because it's the only time that I have an opportunity to watch any football.
So, yeah, we'll watch that. We'll get a film in and we'll break it down when we get it. But to answer your question, yes, I will watch it.
Q. Dazz Newsome is a local kid for us. Just curious how you would evaluate his progress as a sophomore this season?
COACH FEDORA: Well, first of all Dazz came in played for us as a true freshman last year and he played both ways in high school. We brought him in here to possibly play corner for us and then we had a need for him over on the offensive side of the ball so we put him in there.
And the kid showed that he is very -- he can be very explosive with the ball in his hands. He's got a knack for yards after the catch. He does a really good job of that. I would say he's probably as good as anybody on our team with the ball in his hands after the catch, you know?
So he's learning the nuances of the receiver position, and I think he's come a long way in a year.
Q. Once you moved him from corner, you never looked back?
COACH FEDORA: No, we never looked back. He's got too much value to us with the ball in his hands. I mean, he can do so many things. You know, he's done a really good job on our punt return unit. He got in a kickoff return the other night and did a nice job.
He's made plays with the ball in his hands on the offense. So we're going to continue to utilize him.
Q. With the rise of Syracuse, Boston College is ranked and Duke's been ranked, does that lend more parity to the league than in the past?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I think our league is extremely strong, from top to bottom, I really do. And I do think there's a lot of parity in the league.
I think that you've got a lot of really good coaches in this league in both divisions and I think all of them are doing a tremendous job.
Q. Tough loss last Thursday night to Miami. How good is that Miami defense? Have they improved over the years?
COACH FEDORA: Oh, yeah, I think they're very good. They're really good up front. Their linebackers, you know, have been starting for now I think going on their third year. I think they're good players. I think they've got good guys on the back end. And I think Manny does a good job with them creating tackles for loss up front and putting you in long-yardage situations.
So we just did -- we did a poor job of taking care of the football the other night. We felt like we had some success running the ball. We were efficient running the ball, but when you turn it over as many times as we did, we just didn't give ourselves a chance.
Q. I know this week is a bye week but two weeks ago hurricane made it an official bye, do you wish you guys were playing this weekend just to keep everything going?
COACH FEDORA: I would love to get that 12th game in. I didn't think we were going to be able to get it in this weekend because of the way the schedule was set up, but who knows what will happen in the future. But we need as much work as we can possibly get right now.
Q. More of a citizenship than a football question today. With the elections in November coming up, do you feel a responsibility to encourage your players to register to vote?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I tell you, I feel responsibility to grow these young men into men. And when they leave here it is my responsibility that they are better men than they were when they got here; they're better fathers; they're better husbands; they're just better people.
And part of that, I think, is the understanding, the responsibility of your voice.
And so we do talk to the guys about that. And I think it is important for them to understand that they do have a voice and that they can make a change if they want to. And so we do encourage them to do that.
