Mack Brown explains difficulty in roster building at North Carolina

Mack Brown took some time off but is back where he really launched his head coaching career, North Carolina. Taking over a program that was trending down, Brown has done an excellent job of getting the Tar Heels back on the right path. Recruiting and building the roster up has been a huge part of the success in Chapel Hill.

Even with some top classes, they have not all come into the limelight for North Carolina. As they have developed, Brown said they are going to play a bigger role during the 2022 season. The head coach preached some patience to the fans by comparing football to basketball. With how good of a program Hubert Davis runs, Brown said the recruiting comparison needs some context.

“People are so used to a basketball player coming in that’s a five-star and he’s a one and done,” Brown said. “He comes in, he’s great, then they say ‘what about those linemen you signed? Where are they?’ ‘Well, this one hurt his knee and this one hurt its shoulder and this one got too heavy.’ But they have to grow up. It takes more time. Last year, we got to play them some, and this year, we should reap the benefits of a lot of really good young players. Because our team is so young. The best players are the freshmen and sophomores.”

Mack Brown says transfer portal isn’t huge asset for North Carolina

The transfer portal has become such a huge part of college football that seemingly every program welcomes outside faces every offseason. North Carolina will be an exception according to Brown, saying the academics will be tough. He mentioned NIL as well, saying they have to figure out who wants to come for football and who doesn’t.

“We’re not a team that can take a lot of transfers or even grad transfers because we can’t get them in school. So we’re not going to be a transfer place and we can’t fix our needs as quickly as a lot of people can. And with NIL, that makes it more difficult too. When you’re looking into who’s into what and who wants to come for what reason.”

Developing talent is where UNC is going to succeed

If North Carolina is going to have national success, Brown says their main sell will have to be their development. Putting players in the NFL on an annual basis is the goal and potential recruiting pitches, especially when dealing with the other factors mentioned.

We’ve got to do a tremendous job of evaluating, getting the right fit for North Carolina that still wants to come here. Get a North Carolina degree, have a chance to win all the games, and then get out of here and have a productive life afterward. But to do that, we have got to do a better job developing than a lot of people. We got these guys in here, got to make them play.”

North Carolina has brought three straight top 15 recruiting classes, per the On3 Consensus. Brown has always been a solid recruiter, dating back to his days at Texas. Now, he knows how important developing these guys will be to the Tar Heels’ program. Seeing success on the field and eventually at the next level will be how UNC sells itself.