UNC Training Camp Day 1: Player Interviews

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina held its first session of training camp on Saturday. Afterwards, four players answered questions from reporters: linebacker Khmori House, cornerback Marcus Allen, quarterback Max Johnson, and running back Caleb Hood.

Watch those interviews in their entirety below and read some noteworthy excerpts …

Khmori House

“Our standard is being tough, smart and dependable. So all our players, we just tell everybody, be tough, smart and dependable. Let’s just start there and win each day. We’re still trying to win today. We’ve got meetings coming up, lift coming up. So trying to win each day and go from there…

“I think (Steve Belichick) is just really good at knowing his players, knowing what we’re good at, and using us, and being able to just let us play free, let us do what you know we do, just play football. And he’s a great play caller…

“I came here because I just think this was the right spot for me. All the other schools, just narrowing it down, I felt like this was the best decision for me. I didn’t know (some of my Washington teammates would follow), but I think I was one of the first guys here, and once I saw my other teammates hopping into that portal, that’s when I was trying to get them.

Marcus Allen

“Thad (Dixon) is a one-of-a-kind of guy. He’s really he brings a lot of energy, a lot of confidence. So just having that on the other side of the field, knowing that that side of the field is being taken care of, having kind of how it was with (Alijah) Huzzie, having a partner there that’s gonna push each other and if one of us is messing up, we’re gonna hold each other accountable, make sure we get it right and make sure we do our part so that our team can win…

“Steve and Brian (Belichick) … Steve is a great coach. He has a lot of experience, NFL experience. He was at Washington. He knows the defense well. He knows what position we need to be in. He knows the best position to put us in to win. And then Brian, he’s a mastermind. He knows everything that’s going on with the defense, so just having them two together is really allowing us to be a better defense, make smarter calls and just make more plays in general…

“(They) give us the call and allowing us to go out there and play. We’ve been really working on our craft this offseason with Moses (Cabrera), strength conditioning, just so we can be in condition to keep up with the offensive tempo and all that. So I think just, especially Steve, just being able to call the correct call, and just having trust in us to go out there and play, I think that’s the big difference.”

Caleb Hood

“For me, I just wanted to play somewhere. I feel like Carolina has always been my dream school. I was in the portal, I just wanted to go play somewhere and get some playing time, prove myself, that I can be that guy. I talked to Belichick, and he wanted me to come back, and Kitchens and Lombardi. And you know, I just feel like this is where God wanted me to be at the end of the day and this is the place for me.

“They just gave me a shot. They saw some potential in me. They were like, ‘you can really do something, if you put your mind to and you work. Hearing that from the greatest (coach), you can’t really turn that down. I just want to challenge myself. So that was big thing.

“(Physicality) is really just mindset. Coach Kitchens, as soon as he took over, during bowl practice we were doing hitting drills mid-practice, he’d blow the whistle and we’d meet in the middle of the field. So it just kind of started there and it just kept going. It’s a big emphasis. You can go out there and be physical any day you want, so at the end of the day, it’s just about mentality and want to.”

Max Johnson

“It’s been a crazy, crazy journey. I just from remember lying on the field, ticked off that I couldn’t play, just for that season. I did all that work last year, and from January to the season, I just was frustrated that I couldn’t play. And all the long hours of rehab, seven days a week, three hours in the training room, of just grinding away, not being seen, and just kind of watching everybody do their thing. So I had to go in there, kind of put my head down and just work. So thank the Lord that I was just able to come back finally and be fully healthy now…

“I always believed that I was going to be back, on the field doing what I’m supposed to be doing. So I set my mind on ‘I’m going to be ready for this season,’ and that’s where I am …

“I’ve talked with Coach Belichick, Coach Kitchens that you the best man is going to play, and whoever that is, I know Coach Belichick is going to make the best decision. I’m just blessed to be here, be able to compete. It just feels good to be able to do it again.”