July 26, 2001

By: Joe Bray

TarHeelBlue: How did it go with the team's speed development this summer?

Coach Connors: "The speed of the team has improved. Right now we've got 15 guys under 4.5 in the forty, with four under 4.4. Now, the forty times were taken on the turf in track shoes, so they're a little quick. When the scouts come they test them on the turf, so it gives us a good idea what to tell the scouts what they run.

"Overall, our team speed is pretty favorable in the skill positions. I think some of the receivers and running backs made big strides in their speed this summer.

"Willie Parker ran very well, along with Andre' Williams. Kitwana Jones continues to run well. Will Chapman broke the forty record for tackles with a 4.74. Julius Peppers ran a 4.55.

"Bosley Allen and Chesley Borders both made strides in their speed. Quincy Monk is another guy who made big strides in speed this summer. Those are just some of the guys who come to mind off the top of my head.

"Now if you look at Willie and Andre', those guys were both sub 4.4 on the turf, so I'm real encouraged about that. I really believe Willie picked up a step or two this summer.

"Quincy Monk is a 4.6 forty. He ran several times at a low 4.6, which is a definite improvement for him and the result of a lot of hard work. Chesley Borders not only accumulated a significant number of points in his strength testing, but he also got faster. There's a guy who stepped up. Billy-Dee Greenwood picked up a step or two.

"Bosley ran a low 4.4, which is a good time for him combined with his elusiveness. He also got stronger.

"Kory Bailey made some strides in his speed. He's run a sub 4.5 several times on the turf. He also continued to make strides in his strength. He looks good, and his attitude is good. He's doing great.

"Ronald Curry ran a 4.53.

"We have very good speed in Dexter Reid and Michael Waddell. Those two guys have exceptional speed, they're both sub 4.4 on the turf. I don't won't to tell you what Waddell runs, I don't even want to say it.

"Overall, I'm real happy with it. The position group where we still have the farthest to go with speed development is the offensive line. But, very seldom are they going to have to run forty yards in a football game, so I'm not as concerned with that as I am their position-specific foot skills.

"As for the defense, I believe our team speed is very respectable. Robert Harris ran a 4.7 forty. David Thornton is about a mid-4.6 guy. I believe that overall our defensive speed, movement, and athleticism is good. I do think that each of our coaches will tell you that we're not very deep. We've got to have some guys step up.

"I was very happy with Eric Davis, who got his bench up to 450. Jermicus Banks, who got his body weight up to 260, is now benching 400 pounds and has made some really big strides this summer.

"Donti Coats met all his conditioning goals this summer, which was my main concern with him. I think he's naturally a pretty strong kid, but we want to continue to push him.

"Quincy Monk had an excellent summer. Dexter Reid was a warrior this summer, as usual. Billy-Dee continued to work extremely hard, as did a lot of guys on that side of the ball.

"On the offensive side of the ball I'm encouraged because four of the five starters on the line have what I believe is very respectable upper-body strength. Greg Woofter, Jeb Terry and Adam Metts are all real strong in their upper body, the same thing with Marcus Wilson. On the other hand, Jupiter Wilson's lower-body strength is his strong point. He's a 600+ squatter. Marcus Wilson's overall strength is very good. He power cleans 342, he squats 630, he benches 420. His intensity level is very high.

"I thought that Doug Brown worked hard, and I think that Zach Hilton continued to make impressive gains in his strength. He's now a 400 bencher, and his other numbers continued to go up. He's 263 pounds right now.

"As I've said, we don't have great depth. We've got to have guys like Skip Seagraves and Justin Barton step up."

TarHeelBlue: How does summer conditioning differ from winter conditioning?

Coach Connors: "What we do in the summer is we run the heck out of them. We don't expect them to make exceptional strength gains in the summer. We expect them to maintain and make some gains, but the main thing we're concerned with is how they're running. I'm not as concerned with the strength gains from May to July as I am in the winter months. What I do expect is for them to improve their speed, and I think we've done that.

"I think these guys are in great shape now. I'm happy with the conditioning. The 300-yard test is a crossing-over type of test, a fraternal type of thing as well as being a mental and physical toughness test. After today's testing, there may be two or three guys left who haven't made it, but that's all. It's better than I thought it would be. It could be better, but at this point I can't say that I'm not happy with it.

"Also, the 300-yard sprints are very important to the team concept because they have to encourage each other through it. That's as important as anything. In fact, it was very important for Ronald Curry that his teammates supported him through it, then for him to have the opportunity to support his teammates.

"Our main concern in the summer is speed, speed endurance, and anaerobic conditioning, and I believe that that has been done. These guys have an attitude that's going to carry them further than they've been. There's definitely been an attitude change since we came on board.

"It's not quite where I want it to be yet. There's still room for improvement. We can get tougher, we can still make less excuses. We need to be stronger in the future. We're happy with the strength levels, but we're still pretty average strength-wise in some areas of our team."

TarHeelBlue: Has any particular position group stood out the most?

Coach Connors: "I think as a position group the running backs do a great job. Those guys are always challenging each other. Brandon Russell has made progress. I think that he works hard. I've been very happy with Brandon.

"The two guys who are always challenging each other are Willie and Andre'. They have a good chemistry. I think the chemistry that Joey and Peppers had was good, they trained together.

"Woofter and Marcus Wilson trained together. They were a good pair. Woofter is another guys who has made good progress with his lower body. Leg strength is something he hadn't worked on much in the past, but he's really made a commitment to it now.

"We believe in these guys because we think that they're believing in themselves.

"As a Strength & Conditioning staff we're very excited about what we've seen and what they've done and how they've bought in to what we've asked them to do. We believe what we see. That's a big quote with me, 'I believe what I see.'

"The four things that are important to me in my program are discipline, work ethic, accountability and positive spirit. I've got to see that every day, and if I don't see it, I don't sleep very well, and I have to confront the team about it."

TarHeelBlue: Tell us about your staff.

Coach Connors: "I really attribute a lot of our improvement to my staff, they've really done a great job staying on these guys. They've worked countless hours, none of them have taken a day of summer vacation. I'm very proud of what they've done with this team.

"Jeff Kerr was probably the most committed athlete I saw in the ten years I was at East Carolina. He was a true warrior both in games and in his preparation. I've been very happy to have him here with me.

"Clay Matthews is a national-caliber Olympic lifter. Much of our gains that we've made on the platforms are a tribute to his coaching.

"John Williams will make a great head Strength & Conditioning Coach somewhere in the future. He is knowledgeable in all areas, and he's very demanding of the players. He's very excited about what we're doing. I really think that he's contributed to much of our improvement.

"Brannon Simpson, my other G.A., has done a great job coaching the guys in the racks, with what we call the rack lifts, bench press, back squat, any type of pressing movement over head.

"I'm really proud of and happy with the job my staff has done."

TarHeelBlue: When you first got here, could you envision your squad being in the shape it's in now?

Coach Connors: "Last January when I first came in here, I don't think it was a true read for me because, while the coaching change was being made, the guys shut down their training during that period, which was for about a month.

"Now, I didn't come in here and do a conditioning test, but when we went out to run I noticed that we weren't in very good shape. I think we've come a long way since then. I don't think there was any question in my mind that we could get it to this level, because these guys, like players anywhere, will improve if they are challenged and have goals they must make."

TarHeelBlue: Who are some of your better leaders?

Coach Connors: "I think Ronald Curry has become more verbal, I think Julius Peppers is a good leader.

"Julius has been a great leader by example this summer. Those two guys never missed anything this summer. They worked very hard and bought in 100% to what we were doing. They were a great example to everybody else.

"Julius worked extra, running with the skill guys. What can you say about a guy like that? He did a great job! I'm really happy about that, and I would like to think that we have helped Julius to be even more valuable next year.

"Kory Bailey has been a good leader for us. Sims and Joey Evans have been good leaders. Sims squatted over 700 and benched 485. Billy-Dee has been a good leader.

"I thought Errol Hood really had a great summer. His conditioning is incredible. He can go forever.

"Quincy Monk showed a lot of leadership, as did Adam Metts. James Faison is another guy who did some incredible things this summer. He power cleaned 374. Will Chapman power cleaned 364. Evans and Peppers power cleaned 358.

"Our running backs are all great leaders by example, because of the way they work as a group.

"For the most part, the seniors have been good with their leadership and effort.

"I also think there is more awareness now of the importance of lower-body strength. They've come a long way with that as a team. There was a clear-cut pattern of lack of lower-body strength when I got here.

"I think the biggest thing now that we hope for is that these guys will stay healthy. One of the major things we try to do in our training is to provide the type of training where we have joint-balance strengthening going on, targeting the muscle groups or joint areas that are most susceptible to injuries.

"We're hoping that our off-season training will show up in relationship to injury instances. We also hope that our athletes will know the difference between pain and injury.

"We're very excited with where we're at now. We've reached a point both mentally and physically where these guys aren't going to play not to lose. They're going to play to win."