CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – Following back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Charlotte to kick off the 2024 season, the early schedule hasn’t exactly been daunting for the University of North Carolina football team. However, this lighter slate is allowing its newer players the opportunity to slowly grow over the first month of the season.
College football schedules are made well in advance, so this year’s opening games came at a convenient time for the Tar Heels.
As UNC tries to break in a young quarterback, along with a line of fresh new faces, it’s probably good the Tar Heels’ opposition thus far hasn’t been super foreboding.
For head coach Mack Brown, it’s not about the opponent, but more importantly, how the Tar Heels prepare to play the game.
“We’re working so hard to have every practice with an edge and at a high tempo, and making sure that our guys give the best effort that they can possibly give every game,” Brown said in a news conference on Monday. “Because it’s not about the best team – and we tell our guys all the time – it’s the team that plays the best on that day.”
Distractions have a way of keeping coaches up at night, and in this day and age, there’s one distraction that stands above all others,
“I asked the guys, ‘Are you focused on your phone or football?’” Brown said while pointing to his cell phone. “How much time do you waste on this phone every day that you could be on your iPad watching North Carolina Central.”
Brown pointed out that his team has practiced at a high level from preseason camp to now. It’s one of the reasons why the Tar Heels have been able to get a perfect start to the season.
“It’s a hard game, man,” Brown said. “You got to be ready to play every week.”
Brown said one thing that drives him crazy is how a team could not be excited to play on game day, regardless of the opponent. But so far, so good for the Tar Heels as they have taken care of business in their first two matchups.
UNC hopes to do the same when N.C. Central comes to Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill on Saturday evening. Kick-off is slated for 6 p.m.