After the North Carolina football team put an entire week of practice in for the scheduled game, a last-minute cancellation by UNC-Charlotte gave the Tar Heels unexpected time off on Saturday.
“We were pretty upset,” junior safety Trey Morrison said in a press conference Wednesday. “We just love going out there and playing.”
Though the game against Charlotte was canceled, the preparation still allowed the new players to understand what a typical game week looks like. The team experienced the intensity of practice leading up to the game that week.
Despite the setback, the players have kept positive energy and high spirits during practice over the past few days. Junior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel told reporters Thursday that they held a small scrimmage at the end of practice ahead of the Tar Heels' away game against Boston College on Oct. 3.
“The whole morale of the team was to get ready for Boston College,” Gemmel said. “Everyone on the team was energized. We all looked so alive and happy to be here.”
Head coach Mack Brown also said he views this hiccup as a restart and a chance to focus on the next opponent.
As they prepare for the away game, the coaches recently made some changes to the lineup after Myles Wolfolk was ruled academically ineligible. Morrison, who originally played in the nickelback position, is transitioning to safety, and first-year Ja'Qurious Conley will take over at nickelback.
Although Morrison is confident in his abilities to make the transition, he acknowledged that the safety position will take some getting used to.
“It’s pretty much the quarterback of the defense,” Morrison said. “I gotta talk a lot. That’s probably the hardest part for me.”
