Game Week Interviews: Chad Lindberg & Leroy Jackson

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After last week’s missed opportunity on the West Coast, it’s back to the regularly scheduled programming this week at the Kenan Football Center as North Carolina continues its search for its first ACC win. Redshirt senior offensive lineman Chad Lindberg and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Leroy Jackson spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of the 16th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers’ visit to Kenan Stadium on Saturday.

>>> Welcome to the new home of Inside Carolina! Reactivate your account for $1 <<<

Watch the complete player interviews and read some noteworthy excerpts from their comments.

Chad Lindberg

When asked if the team feels any positive momentum after Cal:

“Absolutely. I think our offensive line, we’ve been building every single week. We saw a lot of good explosive rushes, fuels us, fires us up. I think we have a lot of good things going, and we’re trying to build on it this week. We’ve strung a lot of good practices together, and keep going with it…”

When asked about his transition to playing center:

“Between him (Austin Blaske) and Christo (Kelly), they have a ton of center experience between the two of them, something that in all my years of college football, when I’m in meetings, I try to learn the center position, because if you can learn center, then you know all five. So I’ve been trying to know the assignments and the mike points and all that there, so it was kind of an easier transition. But then Blaske and Christo, they have so much experience. Told me all the techniques I need to know, the little tips and tricks. I’ll do something wrong and then, the first person that comes up to me is Christo telling me ‘this has always worked for me in the past,’ and then I’ll go do it and it’s perfect…”

When asked about his early struggles snapping:

“When I first was doing them I snapped it all over the place. It’s not easy to do, you only throw the ball four yards, but it’s upside down in between your legs, and you’ve got to block someone. I worked before and after practice, I still do, especially if I feel like my snaps are bad at any particular practice, I’ll grab Gio, Max, or any one of the quarterbacks and get a couple extra after. I’m still working on velocity, getting it back there, but I’m just getting more used to it. Thankfully, I kind of went to center at the beginning of camp and had enough time to work on it.”

Leroy Jackson

When asked about the upcoming matchup with Virginia’s offense:

“Virginia’s got a great offense, supposed to be one of the best in the ACC. But at the end of the day, I feel like we just have to focus on how we play, and that’s going to determine the outcome of the game…”

When asked about progress and being competitive against power conference teams:

“This is the sixth game, so just competing every day in practice and staying true to the process. That’s really what’s the most important part, just staying true to the process and believing in what we can do and just going out there and do it…”

When asked about playing for both Mack Brown and Bill Belichick:

“They’re both great coaches, there hasn’t been a dramatic change. They’re both great in their own way. Not just to have the great opportunity to play for Mack, and I’ve also had the great opportunity to play for Bill…

When asked about if the Cal game was a morale booster:

“I’ll say yes, most definitely, but we gotta continue to get better everyday. It’s a process from week one, and it’s going to be a process to the last game. Just continue to get better and just continue to believe in everybody who he puts out there. We’ve all got confidence in them to do what they want to do, and do what they need to do to get the job done.”