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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 30, 2017

Larry Fedora

Greensboro, North Carolina

LARRY FEDORA: We're excited about this upcoming game against California. Looking forward to getting our team out on the field and finding out a little bit about our team as we go into this game and also coming out of the game. So we've got a lot to learn about the Tar Heels, and hopefully we'll know a lot more come Sunday.

Q. Larry, I guess you have three graduate transfers who appear like they're going to make an impact on your offense. How do those guys wind up with you? Do they contact you out of the blue? Do they have connections on your staff? How do they wind up with you?
LARRY FEDORA: All three of them contacted us. They reached out to us to see if we'd have an interest in them. There is no way to know what guys are out there graduating and no way to know what guys are looking to possibly transfer. So they reached out to us in the first place, and we start going from there.

Q. Just a follow-up, is the process getting those guys in school easier than a normal transfer because they've already graduated?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, they have to go through the graduate submissions, so it is different in that aspect. But you've got a -- they have a resumÃ© in place. They have a full transcript from another university, and they're obviously in good academic standings to have graduated from that university.

Q. To follow-up on something I'd asked you about over the summer with DeAndre Smith at the running backs coach position. Just what you can say about the first fall with him and what you've taken away from his leadership with the running backs and what you can see about how he's tackled that position going into the season?
LARRY FEDORA: I think he's done a great job fitting into the staff. Not just the offensive staff but the overall staff. He's got a great personality. He works hard. He really just fits us. He's done a really good job with these guys throughout camp and now going into the season. I think he's built a really nice relationship. I think he's got great competition in the room, I think but he's also taught these guys how to be great teammates.

Q. Then to follow up on that, the competition in the backfield, what you can say about the level of talent back there and some of the guys heading into the fall? Just what you can say about the rotation in the backfield?
LARRY FEDORA: The rotation will be similar to what we've done in the past as we start out with a guy. I can assure you that multiple running backs will play. I feel good about the people we have back there, with their depth and their talent. We don't have a whole lot of experience. We don't have much experience at all. But they're talented young men. They can run with the ball.

Usually the deciding factor is more on who can handle protections and things like that, which makes it a little tougher on a younger guy. But I'm pleased with how DeAndre has brought these young men along.

Q. Coach, along that same line, what position on your team have you seen the most competition this fall?
LARRY FEDORA: There is not a position on this that we don't have in camp that we didn't have competition. We've had great competition throughout. I know some of you think, well, you've got Bentley Spain who is an established starter, but he's -- we've had great competition at the tackle position. It's really been good with William Sweet and Charlie Heck competing for a tackle spot.

So that's throughout the entire team. I think it's been really good. Even from Nick Weiler leaving to both kickers really working extremely hard and having one kick difference between them, there's been a lot of competition at every position along the entire team.

Q. Coach, Jimbo Fisher has talked extensively about having a second bye week. What is your feeling on that, getting two bye weeks during the season?
LARRY FEDORA: I think two bye weeks would be good for the recovery, the rest and recovery of our players. But it also extends the season another week. It's really -- these guys are getting pushed pretty hard now from being able to come into camp July, the 27th of July, and then you're going all the way, the possibility of going all the way through. It makes it really tough. There are some pros and some cons to it, there is no doubt.

Q. I wonder now that you've been at Carolina a while now and you've spent a little time in the SEC as well, though it's been a while, could you talk about where you feel this conference is? I'm sure when you were in the SEC you probably felt that was the best conference. Now that you've seen what the ACC has done these last few years, do you feel it's not only on par, certainly last year was considered the best conference, do you feel like the model of being on par with the SEC is sustainable? Are there enough programs with enough resources for that to happen?
LARRY FEDORA: I definitely think it's sustainable. I do agree that this past year we climbed above the SEC. So I think it's a really good battle between the two leagues who is going to be the best. We do have the resources, and I believe the universities are committed to making sure that happens. The recruiting is extremely good, and all the numbers tell you.

So, now, getting there is one thing and staying there is another, but I think everybody understands the task at hand and everybody is working hard towards it.

Q. I know you've gotten a lot of questions about the quarterbacks, but the running back situation also on your depth chart, you've got four listed there. I'm wondering what you've seen out of the players at that position and how you envision a rotation going without giving too much away.
LARRY FEDORA: It's not to give anything away because I think we're going to have a running back on the field, and I'm not sure anybody really cares who it is, from our opponent. But, I mean, we're going to have -- we're definitely going to play multiple running backs.

I could see in this first game three guys playing and maybe getting equal reps or, you know, if one guy gets a hot hand, he'll get the majority of the reps. I'm fully prepared to go into this game expecting three guys to play.

Q. Which three guys?
LARRY FEDORA: I think right now it would definitely be Jordon Brown and Mike Carter at this point. Who that third guy is going to be that will roll in, that's still up for grabs.

Q. Coach, just looking at your defensive stats from a year ago, you were one of the top, statistically, defenses against the pass in the country, and yet you had one interception. Have you thought about that, explained that? Is there a reason for that?
LARRY FEDORA: Yeah, I've definitely thought about it. We messed a lot of opportunities. We got our hands on a lot of balls, but we didn't bring them in. You're right, to be one of the top pass defending teams in the country and not come away with one pick, so it's -- but it was just one of those years that that happened. I can't give you the reason why, other than the ones we got our hands on and didn't make plays, we've got to do a better job with our ball skills.

Our guys, you know, it's not like something that we sat here and said, hey, we've got to get interceptions, we've got to get interceptions. We talk about takeaways as a team and how important that is to the success of our team. And if we want to be a good defense, we've got to have takeaways.

Q. What did you learn about your QBs during fall camp? And what is your confidence level about who you're going to put out there on Saturday?
LARRY FEDORA: Yeah, what we have learned is we've got some talented young men that don't have a whole lot of experience that are learning and growing every day. The great thing that I will tell you is when they make a mistake and you come back out in the next couple days, that situation comes up again, that you don't have that same problem. So they're learning from their mistakes.

So I know they're studying the game hard, they're working hard. I think all of them want to be the guy, and they know there's going to only be one guy. So we're really looking forward to seeing who emerges and who really does a great job on Saturday.

Q. Early this week you talked about opening up against Cal, another team with a new coaching staff, and how you guys waste a lot of time watching film that may or may not be relevant. Do those unknowns typically lead to a few (indiscernible) moments on the sidelines in the first half?
LARRY FEDORA: Oh, yeah, there's no doubt. That's one thing we talk about with our team: Hey, guys, there may be some things that we prepare for that we don't see; there may be some things that we will see that we haven't prepared for. So we're just going to have to make those adjustments on the sideline.

So the focus has got to be on us and our techniques, our fundamentals, our base rules that we will then adjust as we get into the game. So our guys have to understand that there may be some things that happen early on that we don't like, but we'll overcome them. We just keep playing and we'll make the adjustments that we need to make.

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