CHAPEL HILL - Overall, Larry Fedora was pleased with what he saw in Sunday's scrimmage, the first one of fall camp.
There were an abundance of mistakes, including on special teams, which the head coach noted. But he wasn't discouraged, many of the mistakes are "typical" and "are correctable."
"It was your typical first-day scrimmage," Fedora said. "There were some great things that happened on both sides of the ball, and there were some catastrophic things that happened on both sides of the ball, including special teams.
"Some really good things happened and then some really bad things. The great thing about it is all the catastrophic or the bad things that happened are all correctable and we've got to get people in place to make some plays for all of those situations.
"The good thing is it's the first scrimmage and we've got another practice tomorrow and that's the great thing about it, so it's good."
The Tar Heels were very good overall covering punts and kickoffs a year ago, so what specifically were there breakdowns on special teams Sunday? The coach didn't really answer.
"We went three units with every group. There were some good things with the 1s, sometimes there was a breakdown with the 2s, 3, individual things. We're trying tom get as many guys as many reps and looks as possible, one, to train depth for the special teams but also to find out who wants those positions. So, we're trying to give as many guys that possibility."
Fedora was asked if any players stood out in the scrimmage.
"Nah, not really. Nobody I want to point out."
What were some of the other issues?
"We had two balls on the ground, we didn't create any interceptions, we gave up some big plays, offensively we didn't convert some things, it's your typical things. The way we worked the scrimmage those guys were out there six plays and they were off, we did a special teams unit and then the next unit was out there six plays and they were off and then a special teams unit. So, it was a very situational scrimmage."
Was the coach discouraged?
"Oh no, not at all. Not at all, I wasn't discouraged at all. The effort was tremendous, there was some hitting going on out there, it was great. Attitudes were really good, it's your typical first scrimmage."
There were an abundance of mistakes, including on special teams, which the head coach noted. But he wasn't discouraged, many of the mistakes are "typical" and "are correctable."
"It was your typical first-day scrimmage," Fedora said. "There were some great things that happened on both sides of the ball, and there were some catastrophic things that happened on both sides of the ball, including special teams.
"Some really good things happened and then some really bad things. The great thing about it is all the catastrophic or the bad things that happened are all correctable and we've got to get people in place to make some plays for all of those situations.
"The good thing is it's the first scrimmage and we've got another practice tomorrow and that's the great thing about it, so it's good."
The Tar Heels were very good overall covering punts and kickoffs a year ago, so what specifically were there breakdowns on special teams Sunday? The coach didn't really answer.
"We went three units with every group. There were some good things with the 1s, sometimes there was a breakdown with the 2s, 3, individual things. We're trying tom get as many guys as many reps and looks as possible, one, to train depth for the special teams but also to find out who wants those positions. So, we're trying to give as many guys that possibility."
Fedora was asked if any players stood out in the scrimmage.
"Nah, not really. Nobody I want to point out."
What were some of the other issues?
"We had two balls on the ground, we didn't create any interceptions, we gave up some big plays, offensively we didn't convert some things, it's your typical things. The way we worked the scrimmage those guys were out there six plays and they were off, we did a special teams unit and then the next unit was out there six plays and they were off and then a special teams unit. So, it was a very situational scrimmage."
Was the coach discouraged?
"Oh no, not at all. Not at all, I wasn't discouraged at all. The effort was tremendous, there was some hitting going on out there, it was great. Attitudes were really good, it's your typical first scrimmage."
