North Carolina head coach Mack Brown delivers heartfelt message following victory

Following an impressive home victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies, the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown gave his thoughts on the game, followed by a heartfelt message to viewers watching. Along with Saturday’s game being the Tar Heels’ first ACC matchup, it was also the team’s cancer awareness game.

“Well, we’re 1-0 in the ACC, so that’s the most important thing tonight. Secondly, our defense played like we’d hoped. They played much better,” said Brown. “They stopped the run better, and we did a better job in coverage. So, really excited about where we can go from here because Notre Dame but just better than we were last week.

“Still didn’t run the ball effectively when we wanted to; as much as I want to. But we threw the ball all over the place. So, I really, really proud. Good job with the kicking game. It was just a really good win against a good team.”

The Tar Heels bounced back nicely after a disappointing loss last week to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This week North Carolina was able to put up 41 points thanks to another impressive performance from their star quarterback Drake Maye. Maye accounted for all five of the Tar Heels’ touchdowns, three passing and two rushing, to further boost his impressive numbers on the season. The North Carolina signal-caller is responsible for 22 of the Tar Heels’ touchdowns on the season and has only turned the ball over once; an interception he threw against Georgia Southern in their third victory of the year.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

The postgame interview turned to a more serious note as Brown explained out special the night was for his team and, in particular, Tar Heels receiver Tylee Craft.

“It’s really special, especially on his 21st birthday. And we love him. For everybody out there that’s fighting cancer, people care. We care about him. We care about the other people that we acknowledged and loved this week. It’s a tough fight, but no, you’re not in it by yourself.

Craft was diagnosed with cancer before the Tar Heels’ spring game. North Carolina dedicated their spring game to their wide receiver as he continues his ongoing battle with cancer.

Tonight’s win was special in many different ways for North Carolina. But arguably, the most significant was to honor those around the world battling the disease with the victory.