Sam Howell speaks to the media following the Tar Heels' 48-21 victory over NC State.
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00:00Sam, I wanted to ask about a offensive play
00:04that was not your normal, it's your pancake block.
00:08Walk me through that if you remember it
00:11and kind of what was the reaction you got on the sideline?
00:14Yeah, so I was carrying through my run fake
00:17and I think it was Mike that had the ball
00:20and I was running downfield and I just saw him
00:24so I blocked him, you know.
00:25I mean, I never really made a block like that before,
00:28but I mean, I was just in position to make a block.
00:31The ball really wasn't supposed to come to that side of the field,
00:33so I was just trying to help to run it back out.
00:35And yeah, I mean, there's a lot of excitement from the sideline,
00:37so it was pretty fun.
00:39What is the emotional value of plays like that
00:43and of Javante breaking tackles for the team?
00:46Yeah, I mean, it's just fun.
00:48You're just showing, like, when you physically knock another man down,
00:51you're just showing you're tougher than those guys
00:54and you're showing you're a stronger team than those guys.
00:56So we definitely love stuff like that.
00:58You know, like you said, Javante,
01:00he runs over people the whole entire game.
01:02He kind of just makes a statement of the type of team we are.
01:08All right, let's go over to CL Brown.
01:11Hi, Sam.
01:12What would you say is closer to the true identity of this team,
01:17how you guys came out and played last week
01:20or how you guys approach this week?
01:24Yeah, I mean, we approach every game the same.
01:26I think the big thing is just coming out focused,
01:28you know, just everyone doing their job
01:31and just everyone being 100% focused.
01:34We did ourself in the depot last week,
01:36but we just came out ready to go today
01:38and everyone did their job all four quarters.
01:41And what do you look for to kind of know
01:46that you guys are ready, to know that you guys are locked in?
01:48Coach Brown was saying that it's not a –
01:52you guys aren't a bunch of loud and kind of rah-rah guys.
01:55It's more quiet and it's harder to read in that sense.
01:59But what do you look for?
02:01Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say anything specific.
02:03I would just say you can just tell by the vibe
02:06and the feeling of just being out there on the field
02:08and just seeing the look that guys have in their eyes,
02:10just seeing if they're ready to play.
02:11And definitely before the game and at the beginning of the game,
02:14I saw that in our guys,
02:15so I knew we were going to go out there and have a good game.
02:18Thanks.
02:20All right, Brennan Marks.
02:21Go ahead, Brennan.
02:24Hey, Sam.
02:24Thanks for taking the time.
02:26Congrats on the win.
02:27I just wanted to ask, you know, for you as a quarterback,
02:29what is it like being able to hand the ball to someone like Javante
02:32and just stand there and watch him like throw people,
02:35run around people, just like watching him
02:38get into the end zone time and time again?
02:39What is that experience like for you,
02:41just, you know, standing watching him sort of?
02:43Yeah, it's awesome.
02:44Every time I handle the ball,
02:45I definitely snap my head around to look and see what he's doing.
02:49He's going to make – he's going to put somebody on the ground
02:51every single time he has the ball in his hands.
02:52So he definitely – we're definitely blessed to have him running the ball.
02:55And Alain did a really good job for both of the backs today.
02:58He gave some holes and the rest of the time,
03:00the backs were two really good backs.
03:01So it's definitely fun watching not only Javante,
03:04but Michael as well, do what they do.
03:06Thank you.
03:09All right, Bridget Condon.
03:10Go ahead.
03:11Hey, Sam.
03:12Congrats on the win.
03:13I wanted to first ask you about if you guys had seen
03:17the NC State Pipe video that they made yesterday,
03:19did anyone talk about that this morning in the locker room?
03:23I think someone might have showed it to me.
03:25What was the video again?
03:27Well, it was a video of them saying like,
03:29what's a ram to a wolf and just like highlight,
03:31you know, a classic hype video.
03:33But you guys just put one out on your Twitter account,
03:35which is why I'm asking,
03:37does that kind of fuel you guys or is it just another Saturday for you?
03:42I mean, we don't really care about them.
03:44You know, that's more for them,
03:45just to give them some false confidence before the game.
03:48Because, I mean, they just,
03:50I feel like they're trying to give them their own confidence.
03:53I mean, we don't really care about them.
03:55I mean, we know what a ram is to a wolf.
03:57I think we saw it out there today.
03:58It could have been a lot worse than it was.
04:00So I'm not going to say anything else about that.
04:02Thank you.
04:05Okay, Ross Martin, go ahead.
04:09Hard to follow that answer there,
04:10but I was going to ask about Javante too.
04:11I mean, obviously you see him running stuff.
04:13Where do you, I mean,
04:14when you see him get so many yards after a contact
04:17and what's that like?
04:18And I mean, how much enthusiasm does it give you all his offense
04:21knowing he can get so many yards after contact?
04:24Yeah, I mean, it's a huge blessing we have offensively
04:26because he's going to get so many more yards
04:29than the yards that are actually blocked for.
04:31You know, a play might, we might run power
04:33and the play might be blocked for five or six yards,
04:35but he's going to get 10.
04:37So, I mean, he just does a really good job of running after contact.
04:42You know, it's going to take multiple guys to bring him down.
04:44And that's why he's one of the,
04:46if not the best running back in the country.
04:47So we're definitely blessed to have him here.
04:49What's he like? I mean, he's a really quiet guy.
04:51I mean, how would you describe his personality,
04:52his mentality in the huddle or just in the locker room,
04:55things like that?
04:56Yeah, I mean, he's a quiet guy,
04:57but once you really get to know him,
04:58he opens up a little bit.
05:00I mean, he's just a guy that loves the game.
05:02He loves to go out there and win,
05:03whether he's scoring touchdowns or not.
05:04He just loves being out there.
05:05So I'm definitely, it's a lot of fun being around Javante.
05:09Awesome. Thanks, man.
05:12All right, we'll wrap it up today with Gregory Hall.
05:14Go ahead.
05:16Sam, four turnovers for your guys' defense today.
05:19What does that do for you in the offense?
05:22Yeah, those are huge momentum plays.
05:24You know, when they get the ball,
05:25we definitely try to capitalize off those.
05:28You know, I think that's how you win football games
05:29is creating turnovers and capitalizing off those big plays.
05:32So that's just huge momentum swing.
05:35So we definitely like to take advantage of those.
05:37And our defense played a really good game today
05:39and gave us the ball in some really good field position.
05:41So we got to take advantage of it.
05:43Thank you.
05:45All right, Sam.
05:46Thanks for your time today.
05:47Appreciate it.