Swinney on North Carolina: 'They have got some pieces'

With Charlotte in the Tigers’ rear-view mirror, the team has turned their attention to their next opponent, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. It's been a while since the Tigers have last played the Heels; 2015 to be exact. The Tigers took on the Tar Heels in Charlotte. The Tigers would end up with the 45-37 win and would go on to play in the National Championship before falling to Alabama 45-40.

The Tar Heels were riding high after the first two games this season. The Heels took down the Gamecocks in Columbia and then turned around a defeated Miami at home. But, their recent trip to Wake Forest proved a disaster as the Heels fell to the Demon Deacons in what was a thriller of a game and then turned around and lost to Appalachian State. Because of their last two games, the Tigers open up a 28 -point favorite.

"We've got a big challenge this week," Head Coach Dabo Swinney said during this weekly press conference. "North Carolina is a team that is obviously 2-2 but could easily be 4-0. They have gotten down in some games, but they have always found a way to come back." 

"You can tell and see the influence of Mack Brown and the new staff and what they are trying to do. You can tell the guys are listening and believe in what they are saying, they play incredibly hard regardless if it is 21-0 or the game is on the line at the end of the game," Swinney said. "They have got some pieces; they are a team that, as I said, could be easily 4-0. They are very capable of beating us. The team has gotten better as the games have gone on." 

Swinney is impressed with the young quarterback, Sam Howell, who was offered by the Tigers and a player who I got to watch play when he was the quarterback for Cam Newton's 7v7 team. 

"Offensively, they're very young. They've got talent, and they're explosive. Everything goes through the quarterback," he said. "He's kind of like Baker Mayfield. He's not as fast, but he's got that kind of toughness and grit. The bigger the moment, the better he plays. He's got some savvy to him. He makes a lot of plays with his legs and has a good feel for the pocket. He's like 70-something percent on passes of 10 yards or more." 

As Swinney has said many times before, he always expects the best out of every team that plays the Tigers and expects no less from the Tar Heels. 

"I am excited about this trip. I've only been there one time, 2010, maybe the worst coaching job that I have ever done. We have an open date coming up here soon. It's hard to believe that this is game five. We're a pretty strong team, too. So, I want to play well and play with confidence. I am excited about competing against Coach Brown. He is one of the best to coach the game, and I think one of the best people. He is a true gentleman, and he loves his players. 

Their friendship stems back to 2008 when Swinney was named the permanent head coach. Swinney had sent out some emails to coaches asking if he could come to their practice and shadow the coach. Mack Brown was the only coach who let him. 

"When I had first gotten the job, I had gotten our first recruiting class in, and I wanted to meet with a couple of head coaches," Swinney said. "Mack was the only one who would let me come. I didn't know Mack Brown, but he had followed us during the interim time and called me back. He welcomed my whole staff and me out there. It was great. I didn't know him, but I had a lot of respect for him from afar. I just thought that he would be a good guy to sit down and talk and observe how they did things." 

The Tigers face off with the Tar Heels at 3:30 on September 28th in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.