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THT Podcast, Episode 3: Bryn Renner, former UNC QB & Tar Heel Sports Network sideline reporter
Jul 14, 2026
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0:01
Hey, welcome back to the Tar Heel
0:03
Tribune podcast along with RL Bynum, the
0:05
publisher of the Tar Heel Tribune. I'm
0:07
Britt Whitmire and we're very glad to
0:09
have with us Brennen Renner, the former
0:10
North Carolina quarterback. You can
0:12
catch Brennen as the sideline reporter
0:14
with Jones, Angel, and the gang on the
0:16
Tar Heel Sports Network coming up this
0:18
fall and of course you can see all of
0:19
that stuff and actually stream all of it
0:21
with the Varsity app. So, go download
0:23
that right now while you're thinking
0:24
about it. 46 days until TCU against
0:27
Carolina in Dublin. Thanks for joining
0:30
us, Brennen.
0:31
>> Yeah, I'm getting excited, guys. Thanks
0:32
for having me.
0:33
>> Yeah, I've always enjoyed your honest
0:35
assessments of the program.
0:38
So, we thought it'd be a good time to
0:40
bring you on to talk Carolina football
0:41
as with ACC kickoff happening this week.
0:44
Of course, last season when I was down
0:46
there it was a circus because everybody
0:48
was anticipating year one of Bill
0:50
Belichick.
0:51
Probably won't be quite like that when
0:53
UNC arrives on Friday. Uh
0:57
I know it's a loaded question, but what
1:00
went wrong last season?
1:01
>> Yeah, I think
1:03
um
1:04
Look I look I think there was a lot of
1:06
expectations that in college football we
1:08
realized may be too lofty. And I think
1:11
you still have to understand that
1:12
there's 18 to 20-year-old kids on the
1:14
field making decisions. And I can say
1:16
that because I made some bad ones
1:18
myself. Uh when I was a first-year
1:20
player it was a really struggle with the
1:21
game speed, um understanding our
1:24
terminology, understanding defenses,
1:26
um you know, where I needed to go with
1:28
the football and be accurate. Um
1:30
And just a multitude of things. So, it
1:32
it's kind of a crash course and I think
1:35
you know, when you when you look at the
1:36
whole body of work that the 2025 team
1:38
had, there was a there was quite a bit
1:41
of obstacles that that kind of derailed
1:43
them. Everyone picks out the first drive
1:45
against TCU, myself included, and that
1:48
was probably the most electric it's been
1:50
in Keenan since I was in school when Gio
1:52
returned the punt against NC State. I'm
1:53
being honest. And I think everyone can
1:56
attest that there was there were some
1:58
high hopes even after the first drive.
1:59
And I think you know, what you have to
2:01
understand in college football is it's a
2:03
week-to-week basis. And there were some
2:05
injuries that that came up. You know,
2:07
Geo would miss some time.
2:09
Um Geo didn't get to campus until the
2:13
start of training camp last year. So,
2:14
there was a lot of unknown and he didn't
2:16
have a spring and he didn't have kind of
2:18
the ability to train with the players
2:19
and and I think that's just so vital and
2:22
we we kind of saw Michael Cosum of
2:24
um a little bit of hey, this is college
2:28
football. Everyone was new, Coach
2:29
Belichick included, Coach Lombardi.
2:31
Everyone was kind of new in college
2:33
football. Not making excuses, but it it
2:35
was a bit of adjustment. The schedule's
2:37
different. Um the travel's different.
2:39
How you have to prepare and and things
2:41
like that. And I think the players were
2:42
all new. And I think for for me, what I
2:45
noticed is
2:47
you have to get some veteran guys that
2:48
have played some snaps that can offset
2:51
your young talent that hasn't made made
2:53
plays yet. I know for me going in my
2:55
second year starting, I felt like I was
2:57
a lot better.
2:58
Playing in even my third year, I was
2:59
ready to roll because I knew the game
3:01
speed of college football. I think when
3:03
you combine young kids with old kids and
3:06
can kind of have that, you know, hey,
3:08
look, I've been here before. This is how
3:10
we do things. I'm going to make the
3:11
catch on third down. I'm going to, you
3:12
know, not fumble on the 1-yard line. We
3:14
lost two games because of fumbles at the
3:16
goal line. And all that's a six-win
3:19
team. And I think that's that's the
3:20
biggest thing is we were in games to
3:22
give ourselves a competitive advantage,
3:24
but didn't have enough kids
3:26
that that said, hey, look, I've been
3:27
here before to go make the play. So, I'm
3:29
looking forward a lot of improvement
3:30
because
3:32
I think the team has has earned that. I
3:34
think there's a lot of Sometimes when
3:36
you go through disappointment in the in
3:37
the season, it can really help the
3:39
off-season program. I think this team's
3:41
going to do that.
3:43
>> It I think it says a lot that UNC only
3:45
nominated four players for preseason All
3:47
ACC, being Jordan Ship, Chris Christo
3:51
Kelly,
3:52
Mel Cardon Boujeday, and uh
3:55
defensive back Jaden Patterson.
3:57
What do you think that says that they're
3:59
only
4:00
nominating four? Does it say that they
4:02
don't know who the stars are going to
4:03
be? They don't know
4:06
I'll it's still unknown a lot.
4:07
>> Yeah, I think it's a little bit of a
4:09
unknown. When I went to the ACC Kickoff
4:11
Classic or the the the media days, it
4:13
was kind of honestly a dog and pony
4:15
show. And I went with the first year I
4:17
went with Kevin Riddick and then my
4:20
second year I went with Kareem Martin.
4:22
And so you know, it was kind of the the
4:24
people that spoke well enough and kind
4:26
of had you know, really good seasons
4:28
that were coming back.
4:30
But it was also kind of just the
4:31
captains and the leaders of the team.
4:33
And I think that that kind of epitomizes
4:35
you know, where they see Kristo, where
4:37
they see Melcar and where they see the
4:39
Jordanships on our team and I think you
4:41
know, those guys are going to have to
4:42
step up and lead. And I think it's
4:43
really cool that the ACC does this and
4:45
brings them in and it gets the
4:47
anticipation for
4:49
you know, the football season coming
4:51
around the corner. I mean, I was
4:52
watching the ACC network today and and
4:54
they were doing the kind of predictions
4:56
and and things like that and that
4:57
motivates you as a player. So
4:59
I think even as a fan and and the guy
5:01
that just goes to the game and watches
5:02
it as a fan now,
5:04
I'm getting excited and I think the kids
5:05
are too and I think like I mentioned in
5:07
the previous statement, I think when you
5:08
go through some adversity as a college
5:11
athlete, you got something to prove and
5:12
I think that that those four guys are
5:14
going to lead the way and and and
5:15
hopefully get off to a good foot in
5:17
Iowa.
5:18
>> It's like RL said, you've got a
5:20
reputation obviously for being a
5:21
supporter of the program but you're also
5:23
have some brutal honesty there.
5:25
>> Yep.
5:25
>> Help me just walk me through this
5:27
because one of the biggest off season
5:28
storylines for this Tar Heel football
5:30
team is the hiring of offensive
5:31
coordinator Bobby Petrino.
5:33
Help me out, hold my hand, give me a
5:35
best case scenario for Bobby Petrino as
5:38
a successful offensive coordinator for
5:39
this football team.
5:41
>> I really like you guys' questions. These
5:42
are the best ones I've gotten so far.
5:44
Um
5:45
Great, I'll tell you this. I I think
5:47
with what Coach Belichick Belichick did
5:50
and and the team did is hire a mature,
5:53
proven offensive coordinator. And I
5:55
think
5:56
being around offensive coordinators when
5:57
I was in the NFL and even in college
5:59
football, that guy pulling the trigger
6:02
and calling places is so vital. Like I
6:04
think if you look at the top 10 teams,
6:06
you look at Sarkisian, you look at, you
6:08
know, what he's done with Texas. You
6:10
look at Lincoln Riley's success over his
6:12
quarterback duration.
6:14
That offensive coordinator and the
6:16
quarterback have to be aligned or you
6:17
don't score points. And I think that is
6:19
so key in in today and day's college
6:21
football because it's a young kid making
6:22
decisions. And I knew for me John Shoop
6:26
was vital to my career as I progressed.
6:28
And Blake Anderson when Phil Orgeron
6:29
came in, he was vital to my career. We
6:31
were a joined at the hip and we we could
6:33
talk open and honestly. And what I've
6:36
seen from Coach Petrino and what I've
6:38
heard and what I've what I've talked to
6:40
him about is he has a reputation of
6:43
scoring points. And having a dynamic,
6:45
explosive offense. And if you look at
6:47
Arkansas last year, that offense kept
6:49
them in the game. And they got they had
6:52
a really athletic quarterback and did
6:53
some diverse, you know, diverse things
6:57
offensively. But you look at what he's
6:59
coming in and he's a confident play
7:01
caller. You saw it in the spring when I
7:02
was around.
7:04
Um, he's got a little bit of nuance and
7:06
he brings the pro system. So Brett, I'll
7:08
tell you like
7:10
for a defense preparing going in the off
7:11
season and having a new offensive
7:13
coordinator, those defenses have no clue
7:16
the the the the packages that he has,
7:18
the the different
7:20
um, you know, personnels that he's going
7:21
to use. Our tight end room got better. I
7:23
think we're going to be a more of a, you
7:24
know, one or two tight end team and get
7:26
them more involved. Um, we got the
7:28
receiver room better. We have a new
7:29
quarterback. So I think to our
7:31
advantage, Bobby Petrino's probably
7:33
going to be one of our biggest assets
7:35
because of what he brings as far as
7:37
stability is concerned. Um, to answer
7:39
your question, I don't have an answer of
7:42
how how he's going to contribute to the
7:44
point total, but I can tell you we're
7:46
going to be better on offense for it and
7:48
I know that. Um I don't like making
7:50
predictions because it's like playing
7:53
poker. You could have a royal flush and
7:55
I don't have anything and I bluff and
7:57
and and I beat you, but you would have
7:58
won if you would have you would have
7:59
flipped the cards over. So,
8:01
um I guess that's experience and I
8:03
didn't answer your question, but I I
8:05
think that Bobby's going to be a big
8:07
asset to this program offensively.
8:09
>> I mean, he's he's got the reputation as
8:11
the offensive genius, but uh he's going
8:14
to make an offense that had that's it's
8:16
like a Ferrari just
8:18
overpower teams.
8:19
I don't know what he's getting here. I
8:21
mean, there's only one quarterback with
8:23
U and T experience at ACC Kickoff this
8:25
week. That's Gio Lopez who's now playing
8:28
for us.
8:28
>> Yeah.
8:29
>> And you look at uh we're probably
8:31
looking at either the Wisconsin transfer
8:33
Billy Edwards Jr. or the Texas A&M
8:36
transfer Miles O'Neal. I mean, how do
8:39
you assess them and the other
8:40
competition there and
8:43
do would any either of those work in a
8:46
Bobby Petrino offense?
8:48
>> Well, I I think all the above. I I think
8:50
you look at the the the room as a whole.
8:53
I feel like we did get better.
8:55
Um
8:56
and I feel like we got better with with
8:58
with guys that are at different age
9:00
groups, right? I feel like last year we
9:02
we went all in with one guy and this
9:05
year we kind of went Billy Edwards and
9:07
Miles O'Neal and even Travis Burgess and
9:10
you brought three guys in the room. And
9:12
I've always said this and I would and
9:13
look, when I coached at FIU with Butch
9:15
Davis, you know, I I was coaching
9:16
quarterbacks and and was director of
9:18
recruiting. He always wanted a two-year
9:20
age gap in between because he felt like
9:22
it was the NFL. Hey, look, let's get a
9:24
veteran and and if the if the
9:26
second-year guy has to play, then we we
9:28
have a chance and then even if we have
9:30
to go to the freshman, we're going to
9:31
have a room that's developed. And I
9:33
think I think you look at the continuity
9:35
that you could bring in. Billy Edwards
9:37
has played a ton of football. We just
9:39
haven't seen it yet. He was at He was at
9:41
Wake Forest first. He got He went to
9:43
Maryland and had a great 2024 season and
9:46
and played in the ACC. And then he got
9:48
hurt and he was a starter at Wisconsin,
9:50
which they had a really good team coming
9:52
back and if he doesn't, you know, get
9:53
injured,
9:55
um, then, you know, we no one knows how
9:57
good of a season he could have had and
9:58
I'm really I was close with Billy even
10:00
growing up as a kid.
10:02
Um, and and and kind of, you know, I've
10:04
known him for since he was a little kid
10:05
in high school. Um, he's actually from
10:07
my same hometown. We We went to rival
10:09
high schools. I went to West
10:10
Springfield, he went to Lake Braddock.
10:12
Our dads coached against each other and
10:14
so I've known Billy for a long time. I
10:15
know what it makes him tick. I know his
10:18
competitive level. I know his his
10:20
attention to detail and I compare him to
10:22
a Kirk Cousins type of player. And I
10:24
think you have, you know, you have a
10:26
Miles Miles O'Neal who I've seen throw
10:28
the football and he can absolutely spin
10:29
it. Um, very strong arm. He has
10:32
familiarity with Coach Patrino.
10:34
And then I think you look at Travis
10:36
Burger who's coming off an ACL. I think
10:37
that kid has a ton of upside. I think
10:39
what Matt Lombardi's done to turn that
10:41
room around and get three kids for the
10:42
price of one is is what I'm impressed
10:45
with cuz now we can develop and all
10:47
three of them were there in the spring.
10:49
And I can't tell you enough how those 15
10:50
practices and those 30 meetings are
10:52
vital to a kid's success. You get a
10:54
little confidence and then you get
10:55
another 30 coming here on July 29th when
10:58
you when we had had the practice and
11:00
then you can kind of you can kind of
11:02
know what you have, but now we have
11:03
three three guys that can go compete and
11:05
the best one's going to win.
11:06
>> And I've I've heard Patrino say
11:08
establish a running game is is a key,
11:11
but
11:12
that offensive line,
11:14
in my opinion, is one of the weak points
11:17
coming in. I mean,
11:19
they were without, uh, Aiden Banfield
11:21
for a large large part of the season
11:22
because of an injury. He's got to come
11:24
back healthy and strong. Kristo Kelly's
11:26
got to get better at center.
11:28
And, uh, you got a couple other
11:30
elements. So, how do you how do you
11:31
think that offensive line is coming
11:32
together?
11:33
>> Yeah, I think the offensive line in
11:35
college football as a whole is so
11:36
important. Like you said, I think last
11:38
year we underperformed at that position.
11:40
I think everyone kind of understands
11:41
that. There was a lot of duress in the
11:43
pocket. We gave up, you know, multiple
11:45
games with multiple sacks. And I think
11:47
that hurt our third down, you know,
11:49
consistency. We were in a lot of third
11:51
and longs as we know. And we just
11:53
weren't very consistent as as an
11:55
offensive line, even running the
11:56
football.
11:57
We had to do a lot of things and
11:59
you know, I think I think there's a lot
12:01
of attributing factors you look you
12:03
mentioned Aiden being out for a while.
12:05
Hopefully he can get back and be
12:06
healthy. Kristoff was out for the entire
12:08
year pretty much. And we never had a
12:10
starting five that was the same. And I
12:13
remember going into some of those games
12:14
I was calling them like, man, this is a
12:15
total whole new offensive line. I don't
12:17
even know how I would respond. I played
12:19
with one of the best offensive line that
12:21
we that we had here and all five of the
12:23
guys played in the NFL. And I know the
12:25
consistency factor of we started all 30
12:27
30 games together. So, I think you know,
12:30
I think it's a crap shoot to be honest
12:32
with you both. I think the offensive
12:34
line position as a whole in college
12:36
football is is one of those things where
12:38
it's it's very volatile. Like you'll
12:40
have good years with offensive lines and
12:42
you'll you'll have a great running game
12:43
and then some years you'll have to pass
12:45
and and you have to kind of be adaptive.
12:47
I think some guys have to really step
12:49
up. And I think that's what this year is
12:50
going to be. I think as a whole the
12:52
offense has to step up and make more
12:54
plays. I think the defense last year
12:56
played well enough and kept us in enough
12:57
games that we didn't score enough enough
12:59
points to win and we weren't consistent
13:01
on staying on the field and getting
13:03
points.
13:05
>> Well, you were talking about that just a
13:06
moment ago and about I know that there
13:07
was so much pressure on this football
13:09
program during last season it kind of
13:11
halfway through the season they had to
13:12
call a press conference and Bill
13:13
Belichick had to go, hey,
13:15
you got to give me some time to
13:16
establish my culture, my way of doing
13:18
things. I think the message from the
13:21
athletic department from this football
13:22
team is there is a step up in the
13:24
quality of player that we have this
13:26
year. Is that what you're saying?
13:28
>> Of course. I think going into year two,
13:30
all of our expectations is this team
13:32
needs to improve from four wins.
13:34
There's no question about that and we we
13:36
all would say that. I think they would
13:38
see that say that as well. I think when
13:40
you when you
13:41
when you understand the magnitude that
13:43
came in from being a just a player on
13:46
the team and you get Bill Belichick, I
13:48
think everybody would be like, "Oh my
13:50
goodness."
13:51
I I'm I mean I I would as a grown man
13:54
that played in the NFL and played
13:55
against coach Belichick like I everyone
13:57
kind of like got a little starstruck,
13:59
right? Like he's at Carolina and it took
14:01
you know, it it kind of like everyone
14:02
was like, "Man, this I mean even the
14:04
media people were like, 'Holy smokes.'"
14:06
I mean I've never seen so many bodies of
14:08
media at a thing. And so as a kid,
14:11
you're looking like, "Oh my gosh,
14:13
spotlight's on me." I mean, can you
14:14
imagine your parents texting your
14:15
friends texting you? You know, "Hey,
14:17
there's pressure at practice. This is
14:19
the the Hall of Fame coach." And I'm
14:20
just speaking from experience, but once
14:22
once you let the guard down and see how
14:23
how well he is as relating to the
14:25
players and and getting them better and
14:28
worrying about the process. Like I
14:30
always go back to what he did in in New
14:31
England. They weren't a Super Bowl
14:34
contender right away. He had to go get
14:36
the elements. He had to go get the
14:37
Gronks. He had to go get the uh Willie
14:38
McGinests. He had to go get the Wes
14:40
Welkers. Like he got those players in
14:42
the system and then they had success. So
14:44
I think it's really hard to come in. I
14:47
think he got hired what in this maybe
14:50
what, December of of 2025 and and then
14:54
we're not even you know, we're we're
14:56
kind of like, "Okay, now let me go get
14:59
the the players that I want." And I and
15:01
I go back and I look, my dad was a
15:04
a football coach for 40 years and I
15:05
loved the Patriots and I loved Bill
15:06
Parcells and he always said, he goes,
15:09
you know, he always wanted to be the GM
15:11
of the of the program, right? He wanted
15:13
to go I think there's a famous quote
15:15
that he said. He said, you know, "I
15:17
didn't want someone to go get the food
15:19
and and and make me go cook it." He I
15:20
wanted to pick out the food myself. I
15:22
think it's something along those lines.
15:24
And I I I really understand that cuz
15:27
I've been a coach and it's like, "Hey,
15:28
someone else recruited this defensive
15:30
back that I didn't even know and I have
15:32
to go coach." I'm not saying that's any
15:34
disrespect. It's just It's a different
15:36
thing when you can bring your own
15:37
players in. So, I think there's a little
15:39
bit of that. I think there's there's a
15:40
lot of sense of urgency in that building
15:42
from what I'm hearing that everyone's on
15:44
a mission to prove and I think it's
15:46
going to start in Ireland and and I
15:48
think a a
15:49
the big point that Coach Belichick wants
15:51
to get home is that this team is going
15:54
to improve and get better from last
15:55
year.
15:56
>> Who Who do you think the playmakers are
15:58
going to be? I mean, this LSU transfer
16:00
Caleb Jackson It It sounds like he's
16:02
going to be pretty impressive.
16:04
Uh and obviously Jordan Ship. And then
16:06
you got some returning guys who
16:08
in the backfield who showed some flashes
16:10
but just
16:11
had trouble
16:13
on first down, second down, and you and
16:15
they were in in tough third down
16:16
situations so often.
16:18
>> Yeah, I I think there's um it's got to
16:21
be by committee and I think there's
16:23
there's not going to be just one guy
16:25
that can that can really take over a
16:26
game and I think you're going to have to
16:28
figure that out again. I think last year
16:29
that was kind of, you know, something
16:31
that I was confused with. We played a
16:32
ton of running backs. Like Demond June
16:35
would have a career day and have rushed
16:37
for like 145 and then we would see him
16:38
only have three or four carries. And so,
16:41
I think there's a lot of that that went
16:42
on because everyone else was trying to
16:44
figure out who can make plays. Um I'm
16:47
really high on Jordan Ship. I think him
16:49
coming back and us keeping him is huge.
16:51
I think he's made critical catches and
16:53
I've always said this, if if a guy's
16:56
caught a ball on third down and made a
16:57
game-winning play in his career, he can
16:59
do it again and he's confident that he
17:01
can. So, I'm really high on on Jordan
17:03
Ship. I like the Tre kid from Wisconsin.
17:06
I think he's going to be a really a
17:08
addition of playmaker that can kind of
17:09
spread the field a little bit. I really
17:11
like the Jordan Washington kid at tight
17:13
end from from Texas.
17:15
Um everyone was really high on him on
17:17
the spring. Um, and then we get June
17:19
Benjamin Hall and we get the kid from
17:21
LSU in in the room. And those are three
17:24
really good backs.
17:25
Um, so I think we got better. I really
17:27
do on that on that end. I do think that,
17:29
you know, like I said, when I played it
17:31
was Dwight Jones, it was Giovanni
17:33
Bernard. Those guys had to go into those
17:35
roles. And like we had some studs like
17:37
Eric Highsmith and those guys, I mean, I
17:40
didn't have to do much, guys. Like I
17:41
literally just got them the ball and
17:42
they would take it 60 or 70. And I think
17:45
that's the coolest thing about being a
17:46
quarterback is I got I was a point
17:47
guard. Literally, I threw it to Gio
17:50
against Georgia Tech on the he went 90
17:52
yards. And all I did was throw it about
17:54
four. All of us and and my little nephew
17:57
could throw it to him and he would be
17:58
gone. And so I think that's what's cool
18:00
is is as you go along during the season,
18:02
guys get better. Guys improve. Guys
18:04
break tackles. Guys get, you know,
18:06
defenses get tired. So we have to
18:08
capitalize on that. I think we I don't
18:10
think we did a good enough job of
18:12
finding the playmakers, identifying
18:14
them, and getting them the ball. And I
18:16
know Bobby can do that this year.
18:18
>> Yeah, I don't know if this was as easy
18:19
as you make it out to be. I think
18:21
>> [laughter]
18:22
>> really good games yourself and you got
18:24
to take credit for that.
18:25
>> Yeah.
18:26
>> But um,
18:27
well, let's look at the defense.
18:28
Obviously, Abu Jihad uh it
18:31
he he could have got big money
18:33
elsewhere. So that was a big uh big deal
18:36
for Carolina to bring him back. And uh
18:39
they got a couple good transfers. They
18:41
got the kid from Richmond, Thulette, and
18:44
the kid from Penn State, Harvey. How do
18:46
you think you think the defense is going
18:48
to get better, too? Obviously, got to
18:51
have to do a better job on on that end
18:53
than last season.
18:54
>> Yeah, I I think something I really what
18:56
one I I think bringing Mel Carter back
18:58
was huge. I think his impact defensively
19:01
in in in providing a pass rush we
19:02
haven't had in a couple years. I mean,
19:04
you guys we didn't really have much of a
19:06
pass rush until last year. Like it was
19:08
it was a struggle to get a a sack when
19:10
Mack was here.
19:11
Um, and I and I think having that and
19:14
having Caleb Cost come back, I think
19:16
he's a he's a big-time player in the
19:17
secondary, but we lost both corners. And
19:20
we're going to have to do a good job of
19:22
of replacing those guys.
19:24
And we got to get better at the safety
19:26
position and the nickel position. And
19:27
Caleb's going to do that either he
19:28
plays, you know, in in the slot or he
19:31
plays, you know, regular safety. We have
19:33
to get better at DB and we lost those
19:35
two kids. And I think, you know, you
19:37
look at you look at other playmakers
19:39
that are going to have to step up. I
19:40
mean, you look at um,
19:42
you know, just just the Wither spoons,
19:43
the the
19:45
um, you know, we mentioned Melcar. I I
19:46
think one thing that I want to point out
19:48
with our defense last year that I was
19:50
impressed with is how many blitz
19:51
packages we did we did run. Uh, we did
19:54
blitz the passer. We were really good
19:56
stopping the run. And guys, we kept we
19:58
kept them in the game. They kept us in
20:00
the game until third or fourth quarter
20:02
in most games. I mean, minus Clemson,
20:04
minus some of those games that were out
20:06
of hand because we couldn't move the
20:07
football. But the Cal game, they kept us
20:09
in it. They got them off the field. We
20:11
were in it against UVA who ended up
20:13
winning the ACC. And, you know, those
20:15
are the two games I can pinpoint. Um,
20:18
they they played really well against
20:19
Syracuse. I mean, Melcar had a really
20:20
good game. Stanford was a really good
20:22
game for everybody. Um, and I thought
20:24
that I was really impressed with the
20:25
defensive scheme last year from Steve
20:26
Belichick. I thought he did a good job
20:28
adjusting. And I think it's going to be
20:30
even better. I'd like to see a little
20:31
bit more zone coverage this year. They
20:33
were playing a ton of man and left our
20:34
DBs on the island um, at times. But
20:37
you're going to have to live with that.
20:38
I think we have, you know, the the the
20:40
kid I'm looking for is is the Griffin
20:41
Hayes kid from Roseville. I think he can
20:43
come in and be a threat. Uh, he had a
20:45
really good high school career. We were
20:47
really lucky lucky to get him. But I'm
20:49
looking forward to, you know, even to
20:50
some of the freshman that are coming in.
20:52
I think we know we've got we signed 40
20:53
freshman that we can probably talk about
20:55
as well. And that's a big recruiting
20:57
class that some of those kids halfway
20:58
through the year
21:00
are needing to play. You know, you came
21:02
here to play and and were you're on
21:03
scholarship, too. And and we're probably
21:05
going to have to, you know, dip into
21:07
that uh at some point this season.
21:10
>> I want to go back to your history a
21:11
little bit. You talked about being in
21:12
high school. You were a highly uh
21:14
recruited quarterback in Virginia. And
21:16
you had offers from all over the place.
21:18
You had guys coming to your house and
21:19
the coaches were telling you, "We have
21:21
this beautiful campus. We have these
21:22
facilities. You can do this. We have uh
21:25
really pretty girls. And oh, by the way,
21:26
you can go to class every now and
21:27
again." Now, today, can you imagine the
21:30
pressure when they put dollar signs on
21:32
top of this? And And it's just money. As
21:34
a 17-year-old,
21:36
I knew absolutely nothing about that.
21:37
And they're talking about backing
21:39
Brink's trucks up into your yard. Can
21:41
you imagine what these young people are
21:42
going through today?
21:43
>> I think I was I was 15 years too too
21:45
late. I mean, I'm telling you, it
21:47
[laughter] was
21:48
I would I would kill to have somebody do
21:49
that right now.
21:51
Uh but no, I I would have gone to
21:52
Carolina for free. And I've [snorts] And
21:54
I've said this before, the experience,
21:56
the relationships, and the friendships,
21:57
and what I get to see on Saturdays, and
22:00
to work with Jones Angel, and things
22:01
like that, it was it was amazing. But
22:03
there was pressure. You know, like I I
22:05
can remember going to Elite 11 camp and
22:08
being around Aaron Murray and AJ
22:09
McCarron. And those were guys who were
22:10
my peers and my friends. And we
22:12
>> Yeah.
22:12
>> we kind of, you know, that that whole
22:14
2009 class
22:16
um had a lot of success. And there was a
22:18
lot of good players out of there. And I
22:20
remember when I was at Elite 11, the
22:21
pressure and magnitude of like every
22:23
ball I threw was getting analyzed. And,
22:26
you know, ball could slip out of my hand
22:28
and someone was writing an article. Or
22:29
someone was saying that I wasn't good
22:31
enough. Or I shouldn't have been a
22:32
whatever four or five star. And And you
22:35
know, I was lucky to have a support
22:36
system in my dad, who was my coach, and
22:39
my mom. And And And they were big on
22:41
just get better. Just get better. You
22:43
know, pick the school that's right for
22:44
you. And And I couldn't have made a
22:45
better decision. But you look at
22:47
nowadays, and I'm still like watching
22:49
these quarterbacks. And And they're
22:50
going through the recruiting process.
22:51
And I'm like,
22:53
I mean, guys, they're committing as a
22:54
sophomore.
22:55
>> Yeah.
22:56
>> I didn't I didn't commit till like
22:57
spring of my junior year. And I thought
22:59
that was a little early. And I think cuz
23:01
cuz now you have to kind of get your
23:02
place in line. And now what's different
23:04
that I would have a hard time with is,
23:06
you know, I I thought Butch Davis was
23:09
the most honest coach that I sat down
23:10
with. And he told me, he said, "Hey,
23:12
we're recruiting you. We're not going to
23:13
go get a junior college kid." Cuz at the
23:15
time junior college was essentially a
23:16
transfer portal. And I remember
23:20
trusting him and believing him, not
23:22
saying that I was scared of competition,
23:23
but they could have gotten three three
23:26
other guys, high school kids. And at the
23:28
time you would usually take two high
23:29
school kids and then maybe go get a JUCO
23:31
kid, depending on where you were in the
23:33
quarterback packing order. But now
23:35
you're asking the kids are requesting
23:37
for money. Guys,
23:38
>> Yeah.
23:38
>> Brett and in our in RL, if I would have
23:40
requested for money, I think Butch Davis
23:42
would have just smacked me in the face
23:43
and said, "Get out of my face."
23:44
[laughter]
23:45
You would have.
23:46
Cuz it wasn't about that. It was, "Hey,
23:47
you know, I'm going to give you the
23:49
opportunity. You should You're lucky to
23:50
come to Carolina." And I still feel that
23:52
way. I still feel like everybody on this
23:54
roster should feel lucky to to wear that
23:57
interlocking NC because they have to
23:58
understand what it means when you're
24:00
done. Like
24:01
>> Right.
24:01
>> They don't understand and I think we do
24:04
about how much the place leaves when
24:05
you're 13 years removed like me. Like I
24:08
love this place so much cuz of the
24:10
opportunity, the relationships, and the
24:11
friendships that I've that I've made. I
24:13
mean, I Gio called me today and we still
24:15
keep up. We're still talking football.
24:17
It's like
24:17
when you're done, the money doesn't
24:19
matter. Yeah, you know, you get a couple
24:21
bucks along the way now,
24:23
but it's about your character and what
24:25
you did on the field. Because now we can
24:28
talk in a different thing where I laid
24:29
it on the line, but now you look at
24:31
these kids, they have to have a
24:32
different perspective, especially at the
24:34
quarterback position, because like I
24:36
mentioned, they're asking these kids to
24:38
play right away. I sat for 2 years,
24:39
fellas. Like I sat I played I played
24:42
baseball before I played football. They
24:43
sent me to baseball. I was starting
24:45
first base for Mike Fox, and I enjoyed
24:47
it. And so that was the that was the
24:50
coolest thing for me is I was 185 lb
24:52
soaking wet. And I remember being in
24:54
practice and Marvin Off Austin threw me
24:55
around like a rag doll and I got a
24:57
concussion. And Butch came over and
24:59
said, "You're "You're 185, you got to
25:01
get to 215 by the end of the season." I
25:03
lifted every single morning at 6:00 a.m.
25:05
with with Jeff Conners. I didn't even
25:07
think about throwing the football. And I
25:09
was who I was coming out of high school.
25:11
And then I sat behind T.J. for another
25:13
year and had to learn the West Coast
25:14
offense that which really helped me.
25:16
Then I was ready to perform.
25:18
I really think it's a disadvantage these
25:20
kids that they don't have that
25:21
opportunity.
25:22
And for better or for worse, cuz we're
25:24
all going to be like, "Okay, where is
25:25
Travis Burgess?" You know, where where
25:27
is he? Cuz if if things go south, we're
25:29
going to be looking for the next hot
25:30
thing. And I think that's myself
25:32
included that I have to be understanding
25:34
that that wasn't my career. And so I
25:36
really feel bad for these guys because
25:37
they're asked to do things so early and
25:40
it might stunt their growth because
25:42
they're not ready to play physically.
25:44
They're not ready to go play against
25:46
Indiana. Like Indiana's roster average
25:49
22 years old.
25:51
You can't ask Travis Burgess to go
25:52
against that defense. I wouldn't.
25:54
>> No.
25:54
>> So, I think that's a different thing and
25:56
sorry to get long-winded, but I'm very
25:57
passionate about that that topic.
26:00
>> Let me Let me ask you about a dynamic
26:02
last season. And I don't know if it was
26:04
a Freddie Kitchens dynamic or a Bill
26:06
Belichick dynamic, but Geo Lopez was
26:09
struggling
26:10
and he was never going to take him out
26:12
and didn't take him out until he got
26:15
hurt. I mean, it it just I mean, I
26:17
didn't I don't see what happened in
26:19
practice with the guys behind him, but
26:22
it was amazing how he stuck with Geo
26:24
through
26:25
uh thin and thin and some thick here
26:27
here and there.
26:28
Uh do you do you think it's a it's a
26:31
different dynamic that you will see with
26:33
Bobby Petrino? And was it Freddie or was
26:35
it Bill?
26:36
>> [snorts]
26:37
>> Yeah, I think that's um like like
26:40
without me being in the building and
26:41
knowing, I I have no clue on what went
26:43
behind the scenes, but I think we all
26:46
saw kind of what you just said as as
26:49
kind of maybe something that we all
26:50
would have maybe done different maybe
26:52
like during the season, middle of the
26:53
season. Um I think it was kind of more
26:56
of
26:57
I don't know if Gio was ever healthy. I
27:00
don't think if we ever got that full
27:02
Gio, I'm a dual threat type of player.
27:04
Um so I don't really know
27:07
um kind of anything on the back story of
27:08
that, but I can say this I'm looking
27:10
back, they probably would say the same
27:12
thing. They might have gone with Max
27:14
maybe a little bit early, especially
27:16
like the UCF game I know he came in when
27:18
Gio got hurt. Um and that and an injury
27:21
in the in the beginning of the year
27:24
can kind of affect you for the rest of
27:26
the year cuz you never really get
27:27
healthy cuz you're playing back-to-back
27:29
weeks and trying to get your body
27:30
healthy and then you start still
27:32
learning the playbook and he's never ran
27:33
these plays before. And so
27:36
you know, I played hurt all of 2011
27:40
and I broke my foot like before camp
27:41
started and nobody knew. And we didn't
27:43
tell anybody. I didn't practice until
27:45
like Wednesdays or Thursdays and once
27:48
the media left, I was like in the
27:49
training room getting rehab and then
27:51
played on Saturdays. And got surgery
27:55
like literally the day after we played
27:56
Missouri in the bowl game. Didn't tell
27:58
anybody. And I think that was for me
28:01
kind of what happened last year maybe
28:03
with Gio is he never really got healthy
28:04
and then maybe I really liked what Max
28:06
did in the second half of the Clemson
28:07
game. I thought Max coming back from
28:09
that catastrophic injury maybe it might
28:12
have given us a better chance to win at
28:14
sometimes or at least earned a little
28:16
bit more playing time than he got. Um
28:18
but look, that's hindsight 20 2020. I'm
28:21
not in the room, but I think we all
28:22
would agree that maybe a changing at
28:24
that position would have given us a
28:26
jumpstart.
28:27
>> And you mentioned your buddy
28:28
>> Sorry, to answer your question, I think
28:30
Bobby's going to do a better job of that
28:32
because look, he's got three guys or
28:34
four guys in the room that he's kind of
28:36
developed since the spring and he'll
28:38
understand that. Sorry to cut you off,
28:39
Britt.
28:40
>> No, you're fine. You mentioned your
28:41
buddy Giovanni Bernard in that legendary
28:43
kick return against NC State and this
28:45
that I that was I believe that was Jones
28:47
Angel's first season taking over the
28:49
legendary Woody Durham as the
28:51
play-by-play guy for the Tar Heel Sports
28:52
Network. And I felt as a huge radio fan
28:55
and a huge Tar Heel fan that that was
28:57
Jones' first real chance at a big call,
29:00
and I thought he absolutely nailed it.
29:02
And now you get to work with him on the
29:03
Tar Heel Sports Network.
29:05
>> I I tell you what, I pinch myself
29:07
because that guy is an absolute legend
29:09
in my mind. The what he does, and I got
29:11
a chance to interview him on my my show
29:13
"Air It Out", and uh it was one of the
29:16
coolest things that I got to do as watch
29:19
him on Saturday afternoons prepare.
29:21
Nobody prepares harder. And something
29:24
that we we bonded over is uh when he
29:26
replaced Woody, that was my first year
29:28
starting, and that was his first year
29:31
kind of calling football.
29:32
>> Yeah.
29:32
>> And then in 2012, Gio returns the punt,
29:35
and it's iconic. And uh like people have
29:37
that as their ringtone, and they'll show
29:39
me like you know when I'm playing golf,
29:42
and they're like, "Hey, I got you know
29:43
Jones' call on my ringtone." And I'm
29:45
like, "That is the coolest thing I've
29:47
ever I've ever heard." Because I I and I
29:50
and I love doing the radio with him
29:52
because I grew up on radio. My my both
29:54
my parents went to Virginia Tech. My dad
29:55
played football there, and we grew up
29:57
listening to Virginia Tech games on the
29:58
radio at my grandma's house.
30:00
And I think it's the purest form of
30:01
football because you're listening to it,
30:04
and you're trying to your brain can
30:06
imagine what's going on. So, it's really
30:08
cool. But nobody brings it to life like
30:10
Jones. And he's honest, he's humble. The
30:14
guy works his tail off, and you know,
30:16
once it becomes October,
30:18
he really turns into the basketball guy
30:20
as well.
30:21
>> Yeah.
30:21
>> Now he's working 7 days a week,
30:23
>> Right.
30:24
>> will come off a they're playing Texas
30:27
Southern Sisters of the Poor game, and
30:30
have to know every single person on
30:33
Carolina's team, the 12th guy on the
30:35
bench that's going to get in from the
30:37
Texas Christian Sisters of the Poor
30:39
team, and then call a game on Saturday,
30:41
and they just finished up on Friday
30:42
night. And he will come in, and his
30:44
boards are perfect. I mean, he is so
30:47
attentive to detail. I have learned so
30:48
much from him, and I think I've I've
30:51
really tried to prepare harder because I
30:53
know how how well he's going to be
30:54
prepared, but I can't say enough about
30:56
that guy and what he means to Carolina
30:58
sports.
31:00
>> Well, we look forward to hearing you on
31:01
the broadcast. We thank you so much for
31:03
being on the Tar Heel Tribune podcast
31:04
today, Bren.
31:06
>> Yeah, thanks so much, guys. And thank
31:07
you for all you do in covering covering
31:08
us and and everything you did for my
31:11
career and and and more to come. So,
31:12
looking forward to this 2026 season, and
31:14
I'll see you guys soon.
31:15
>> All right, appreciate it.
31:16
>> And don't forget,
31:17
for all things Carolina, you can check
31:19
out tarheeltribune.com.
31:26
>> And
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