CHAPEL HILL – UNC football coach Larry Fedora met with the media following Wednesday’s practice to discuss his team’s game this week versus Wake Forest and the redshirt coming off of Jalen Dalton.
Here is what the coach had to say:
Q: Do you have any interesting Steve Spurrier stories?
Fedora: I don’t really have anything because I’ve never coached with him, I’ve coached against him in some situations. He’s always been a gentleman and a great coach. He’s a legend, no doubt, and we’re going to miss him. I heard someone told me today he’s going to be on (ESPN) GameDay, so that’s good. I’m glad he’s still going to be around the sport. We need that, college football needs it.
Q: With the state championship one of the team goals, is that something you bring up to the guys?
Fedora: Oh yeah, we talk about our goals all the time because I don’t want to lose focus of our goals, on our goals. Pretty soon you start thinking about all of the obstacles out there, so yeah, we talk about our goals - Coastal Division champs and state champs - and this game is an important game to us.
Q: Is that something you talked to Mack Brown about before, because he started it 20 years ago?
Fedora: No, I haven’t talked with Mack about it but I am aware that Mack was doing that at that time, also.
Q: In-state games have been something of a challenge in your time here, you lost the last time you played Wake, how important is it to set (a new) standard?
Fedora: As for the 20015 team is …
Q: But for the program?
Fedora: It’s very important because we have that goal of being state champs is important, so this is critical. Our guys know that, they understand that. And hopefully this team is mature enough and the leadership is doing what needs to be done to make sure we take care of our business.
Q: If Jalen Dalton plays Saturday is that because of the injuries or because of his improvement?
Fedora: It’s because the last three weeks we’ve been talking about him in staff meetings because he’s really progressed really well and has come on in the last three weeks. His practice habits and the way he practices warrants that. On top of that, we’ve had some guys get beat up, so with both of those situations he’s definitely going to play.
Q: Has he moved inside?
Fedora: Yeah, well, I don’t know that (smiles).
Q: Is Tyler Powell going to stay inside too because of the injuries?
Fedora: I don’t know that. We haven’t made that decision.
Q: What are some of Jalen Dalton’s strongest attributes?
Fedora: He’s got great hip strengths, he’s a big guy that’s 6-6, 280 pounds that’s got a lot of power in his hips and he’s got some twitch about him also. It’ll be fun watching him play.
Q: has he improved at staying lower off the snap?
Fedora: Yeah.
Q: Does it being a night game change your preparations on game day?
Fedora: Just longer, we have more time during the day to sit around and do nothing.
Q: What do you prefer?
Fedora: Me, the coaches themselves would prefer to play early, the fans would prefer to play late, and the players would probably prefer to play early, too. But there’s a lot to be said about a night game. When you play under the lights the atmosphere is better, it’s more electric, the crowd is more electric, it’s part of what college football is about.
Q: Why would you prefer to play earlier in the day?
Fedora: I want to get up and play. I don’t like sitting around all day… My stomach is in a knot the entire day, I’d rather get it done.
Q: There have been a rash of noon games before at UNC, is it advantageous to have a night game?
Fedora: Oh yeah, no doubt, because our fans love it. Our fans enjoy it a lot more and just the overall atmosphere about it. We’re in the South and people like it later. That’s a good thing.
Q: How much does the game day routine change for a night game?
Fedora: We still get them up for breakfast and go through our routine on game day, so we have a game y routine for 12, we’ve got one for 12:30, we have one for 3:30 or 3 or whatever that is, and then we have one for 6 and we have one for 7. We adjust all of them as we go. But essentially we’re going to get the same things done.
Here is what the coach had to say:
Q: Do you have any interesting Steve Spurrier stories?
Fedora: I don’t really have anything because I’ve never coached with him, I’ve coached against him in some situations. He’s always been a gentleman and a great coach. He’s a legend, no doubt, and we’re going to miss him. I heard someone told me today he’s going to be on (ESPN) GameDay, so that’s good. I’m glad he’s still going to be around the sport. We need that, college football needs it.
Q: With the state championship one of the team goals, is that something you bring up to the guys?
Fedora: Oh yeah, we talk about our goals all the time because I don’t want to lose focus of our goals, on our goals. Pretty soon you start thinking about all of the obstacles out there, so yeah, we talk about our goals - Coastal Division champs and state champs - and this game is an important game to us.
Q: Is that something you talked to Mack Brown about before, because he started it 20 years ago?
Fedora: No, I haven’t talked with Mack about it but I am aware that Mack was doing that at that time, also.
Q: In-state games have been something of a challenge in your time here, you lost the last time you played Wake, how important is it to set (a new) standard?
Fedora: As for the 20015 team is …
Q: But for the program?
Fedora: It’s very important because we have that goal of being state champs is important, so this is critical. Our guys know that, they understand that. And hopefully this team is mature enough and the leadership is doing what needs to be done to make sure we take care of our business.
Q: If Jalen Dalton plays Saturday is that because of the injuries or because of his improvement?
Fedora: It’s because the last three weeks we’ve been talking about him in staff meetings because he’s really progressed really well and has come on in the last three weeks. His practice habits and the way he practices warrants that. On top of that, we’ve had some guys get beat up, so with both of those situations he’s definitely going to play.
Q: Has he moved inside?
Fedora: Yeah, well, I don’t know that (smiles).
Q: Is Tyler Powell going to stay inside too because of the injuries?
Fedora: I don’t know that. We haven’t made that decision.
Q: What are some of Jalen Dalton’s strongest attributes?
Fedora: He’s got great hip strengths, he’s a big guy that’s 6-6, 280 pounds that’s got a lot of power in his hips and he’s got some twitch about him also. It’ll be fun watching him play.
Q: has he improved at staying lower off the snap?
Fedora: Yeah.
Q: Does it being a night game change your preparations on game day?
Fedora: Just longer, we have more time during the day to sit around and do nothing.
Q: What do you prefer?
Fedora: Me, the coaches themselves would prefer to play early, the fans would prefer to play late, and the players would probably prefer to play early, too. But there’s a lot to be said about a night game. When you play under the lights the atmosphere is better, it’s more electric, the crowd is more electric, it’s part of what college football is about.
Q: Why would you prefer to play earlier in the day?
Fedora: I want to get up and play. I don’t like sitting around all day… My stomach is in a knot the entire day, I’d rather get it done.
Q: There have been a rash of noon games before at UNC, is it advantageous to have a night game?
Fedora: Oh yeah, no doubt, because our fans love it. Our fans enjoy it a lot more and just the overall atmosphere about it. We’re in the South and people like it later. That’s a good thing.
Q: How much does the game day routine change for a night game?
Fedora: We still get them up for breakfast and go through our routine on game day, so we have a game y routine for 12, we’ve got one for 12:30, we have one for 3:30 or 3 or whatever that is, and then we have one for 6 and we have one for 7. We adjust all of them as we go. But essentially we’re going to get the same things done.
