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Q: You talked yesterday about needing to improve on the football stuff. How do you feel like these last few days have gone with that, coaches and players?
Dabo: It’s been good — not just these past few days, but these past two weeks. Because again, it’s football stuff we’ve got to get better at. Fundamentals, technique, sustaining blocks, getting off blocks, footwork. It’s finishing routine stuff. It’s across the board. So it’s been a huge emphasis on the basics of what we’ve got to do better. If we can do a better job with the little things, hopefully that can lead to some big things.
Q: With redshirt decisions, are there any guys you’ve made a call on yet, especially those bubble players?
Dabo: That’s probably something we’ll address more next week. We’ll see how it goes this week. We haven’t. Just the nature of the games we’ve played a few of those guys, we haven’t had a chance to play them much. So we’ll hold where we are, especially those freshmen, and then go from there.
A guy like Logan Brooking, for example, who we’re super high on — our plan going in was to save him for the last four games and then cut him loose after that. We’ll have a few more guys like that. Hopefully, this time next year, we’re not even dealing with this. Hopefully, we’ll have a “five-for-five” rule in place. I don’t know that, but I certainly hope so.
Q: Were Tristan Lee and Colin Sadler two of the guys you said wouldn’t have played last week as you alter game plan?
Dabo: I’m not going to respond to that. We did have a few guys out, though.
Q: UNC has a top-10 red zone defense. What makes them a challenging unit inside the 20?
Dabo: It’s a smaller field. That should be the hardest place to score and the easiest place to play defense, honestly, because you don’t have the threat of anybody running by you. It happens quickly, it’s compressed, and they’re well-coached. They do a nice job. Big, strong guys, good corners, really good linebacker play.
Q: I believe Wesco was fielding punts against Syracuse. Was that because Antonio Williams was working his way back from injury?
Dabo: Wesco’s been fielding punts all year. Antonio played what, five snaps against LSU? Wesco’s been back there every game. Antonio’s still working back into full mode. He’ll have his opportunity, but we trust all those guys — Wesco, T.J. Moore, Cole Turner. We’re confident they can do the job, and Wesco’s done a nice job for us.
Q: Back to red zone defense — I think y’all have given up 7 TDs on 11 trips. What’s been the breakdown there?
Dabo: It’s been a huge disappointment. Back to the same things — guys doing their job, eyes on their work. There have been a few competitive plays where the other guy just makes some tough catches, that can happen., But we’ve also had guys not on the same page up front, not fitting things up properly, not communicating. That can’t happen, especially in that area. That’s what happens, it leads to touchdowns, and that’s been a disappointment.
You turn one of those touchdowns into a field goal against LSU, for example — just one of them — and then you need only a field goal at the end to tie it. It’s a huge part, and we haven’t done it to our standard through four games.
Q: Matt Luke talked today about Brayden Jacobs and some freshman linemen. Specifically with Brayden, what’s your assessment through four games and his role moving forward?
Dabo: Just a work in progress. Unfortunately, we haven’t played as well as I hoped or had as many snaps as we wanted. As a result, some guys haven’t played as much. In Brayden’s chances, he’s overset a couple times — wide nine beats him inside. Doesn’t do it in practice, just gets hyped in games. He’s got to play through it. Special talent, smart, going to be a great one for us. He’s gotten some short-yardage work, and hopefully he’ll have more opportunity over the next eight games.
Q: Jaheim Lawson brought a lot of intensity vs. Syracuse. Has he earned more playing time?
Dabo: Absolutely. He’s been a bright spot. It’s not all bad. You win and lost together as a team, but there’ve been a bunch of bright spots, and Jaheim’s one of them.
Q: Where has he come the furthest?
Dabo: Just adding mass. He’s always been a physical, heavy-handed, natural pass rusher. Now he’s 260 — should up here at 210. He can hold the edge, take on pullers, and really be a factor in the run game as much as the pass game. I’m proud of him. He’s really developed into a good player, and we’re counting on him big time this year and next.
Q: You mentioned yesterday you feel like you’re playing the right guys. How do you balance accountability with rebuilding confidence?
Dabo: That’s part of what you do when you meet with them and watch the tape. Just make sure everyone’s on the same page, understands what they did wrong, and what they need to improve. Make sure they see it and agree. That’s part of accountability.
If a guy doesn’t respond, you’ve got to take him out. But we’ve got great kids — they want to win, they’re coachable. They’re frustrated and disappointed with results, but we’ve all got to improve to get the results we want. That’s the focus.
Q: How would you assess Cade’s reads in the run game — making the right decisions on those pitch players?
Dabo: Some good, some bad. Third-and-one last week — that’s a give, 100 percent, to Adam Randall. Probably a five-yard gain. That was a miss. He’s had some really good ones, too. He’s had some where he made the wrong decision. So he’s inconsistent. And that’s across the board; we’ve been inconsistent getting 11 guys on the same page. As I’ve said that’s a reflection of us as coaches. If they could do it without us, we wouldn’t need to be here. So it’s on us to improve that.
