Dabo Swinney Press Conference notes: North Carolina

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szSdyJvAUFs

Here are some unedited notes from Dabo Swinney’s Tuesday press conference:

– Excited to get back on the road in conference play. North Carolina is 2-2 but could easily be 4-0. They’ve gotten down in some games, but they never go away. They keep coming back. They play really hard regardless of if they are down 21-0 or if the game is on the line. They are capable of beating us.

– Really impressed with watching how they play. Defensively, they are all over the place. They bring a lot of different pressures and are not afraid to play man-coverage. They have gotten better as the games have gone along. 

– Offensively, they are explosive. Everything goes through the quarterback. He is Baker Mayfied-esque. The bigger the moment the better he plays. Their running backs are the best group that we will probably play. A very well-coached team and is a team that has a plan. Plan on getting the best version of North Carolina. 

– For our team, it’s about building momentum and start acting like an experienced team after four games. Play fast and be who we are. Really excited for this trip. This is my 17th year and I’ve only been to Chapel Hill one time. That was a miserable night.

– Excited to compete against Mack Brown. He is one of the best to ever coach the game and he is one of the best people to coach the game. He has been a great friend to me. This is something I never thought I’d be able to do. 

– Offensive lineman Blake Vincent is out for the season. Going to fix the ligament on the ligament on the side of his knee cap with surgery. With the new rule, he can get this year back. Can have a sixth year if he wants it. Will Putnam, who played a lot last week, is going to get a lot more opportunities. Won’t get redshirted it sounds like.

– On his last trip to North Carolina: all I could think about was how I bad of a job I did getting the team ready. As simple as that. He was very short when this was brought up two questions in a row.

– North Carolina is very young up front. Doing a good job and they are well-coached with the scheme. The ball is thrown quick and the RPOs are helpful. They have popped some big runs on everybody. As a group, this is the best group of backs that we’ve seen. They’ve given themselves a chance to be successful. The quarterback has taken some hits and is as tough as they come. All things we liked about him.

– Had a long story about meeting Mack Brown, which we will dive more into later. Swinney went and visted Brown and his staff after 2009 to soak up knowledge. Noted that Texas and Clemson are completely different and yet both are successful. When Brown was doing television, he would always shoot Swinney a text on a Friday night asking him for some keys to the game. Swinney said he’s planning on sending Brown a text this Friday night. Again, much more on this later on.

– Jackson Carman is an unbelievable singer. He can play the guitar, piano, bakes, and can surf. He’s just a really unique guy. He wants to be the best in the country. He’s got an edge and a drive to him that is very encouraging as a young player. Was very immature when he got here. Couldn’t make a 5:30 AM workout on time. He eventually bought in. Mitch Hyatt did a great job of mentoring him. Don’t think there’s anything he can’t do.

– Justyn Ross is good to go and he was good to go last week. His hip was bothering him with a bit of pain. He’s a thoroughbred and he looked great last night.

– North Carolina is a team that isn’t going to go away. Down 21-9 against South Carolina and 21-3 against Wake Forest. That’s who they are. They don’t ever quit.