UNC Sports Weekly Press Conference
Article Published by: goheels.com
Coming off the North Carolina football team’s open week, Larry Fedora met with reporters for his weekly press conference on Monday.
Here are four notes from the press conference, leading up to Saturday’s home game against Virginia Tech:
‘Making each day important’
In their last game, the Tar Heels fell 47-10 at Miami on Sept. 27. The bye week followed, and during a stretch in which the team largely focused on the fundamentals, Fedora said he was happy with how his players responded to the defeat.
“I’m very pleased with the way they come out to practice and their attitudes and the effort that they give out there,” he said. “Those guys, each day they’re making each day important, and they know if it’s going to be important on Saturday night, it’s gotta be important on Sunday, Monday or whatever day it is.”
An ‘unusual’ start
With Hurricane Florence forcing UNC to cancel the UCF game on Sept. 15, Carolina didn’t play its home opener until Sept. 22. As of now, that’s still the only game the Tar Heels have played at Kenan Stadium this season.
Although it’s not why the Tar Heels are off to a 1-3 start, Fedora said only playing one home game through the first six weeks of the season is “really unusual.”
“We’re kind of creatures of habit, and this has been a season where you haven’t been able to get into a normal week routine,” he said. “That really won’t take place until this next week, where we start getting into the same routines of a normal week.”
Quarterback questions
In the Miami loss, Nathan Elliott and Chazz Surratt combined to complete 20-of-35 passes for only 114 yards. They totaled six turnovers, with Elliott losing three fumbles and Surratt tossing three interceptions in his season debut.
Fedora didn’t say who would start at quarterback for UNC on Saturday, but he said the coaching staff is “getting closer” to finding clarity at the position.
“I think our guys are competing well,” Fedora said. “I think they’re all anxious to prove that they can play better than what we have at the position. So, I think the competition has been really good. We’ll have somebody ready to go out there on Saturday.”
When asked if more than one quarterback might play against Virginia Tech, Fedora said “there’s a chance anything could happen.”
Tale of the tape
After Josh Jackson suffered an injury in Virginia Tech’s loss at Old Dominion on Sept. 22, Ryan Willis took over at quarterback for the Hokies. Willis has started two games since then, completing 48-of-79 passes for 641 yards and five touchdowns.
“I’ve looked at a lot of film on them, and I think the new quarterback is doing a really nice job for them,” Fedora said. “I think he throws the ball really well. I think there are probably fewer quarterback runs, just base runs. It doesn’t mean he won’t run the ball, but I think they had more called quarterback runs with the other quarterback.”
About Scott Livengood
Scott Livengood is the owner and CEO of Dewey’s Bakery, Inc., a commercial wholesale bakery with a respected national brand of ultra premium cookies and crackers.
Previously, Scott worked at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for 27 years, starting as a trainee in 1977. He was appointed President of the company in 1992, then CEO and Chairman of the Board.
Scott has served on numerous boards including the Carter Center, the Calloway School of Business and the Babcock School of Management, Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County, and the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
He started a new business, StoryWork International, in 2016 with Richard Stone. The signature achievement to date is LivingStories, a story-based program for improved patient experiences and outcomes in partnership with Novant Health.
