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Here is an excerpt from a press conference with special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

Opening Statement:

PRIEFER: My name is Mike Priefer, I'm the new special teams coordinator here at Carolina. I'm really excited to be back here in Chapel Hill. My dad was an assistant coach here under Dick Crum from 1978 to 1983, so I spent a lot of time here. I went to St. Thomas Moore Elementary, I with went Phillips Junior High School, and Chapel Hill High School for a couple of years (and then) my dad wanted to go to the Green Bay Packers. My senior year, I moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, from Chapel Hill; you guys can imagine what a culture shock that was.

"So, I'm excited being back. I was at a letterman's dinner back in the spring and saw a bunch of guys that I grew up admiring when I was a young guy. Rod Elkins was there, Scott Stankavich was there, Paul Davis was there, LT was there. There was a lot of great players. William Fuller was a guy that my dad coached here.

"I had a lot of great experiences as a young guy here. Every time I look at the Bell Tower I remember I was selling programs before games back in the say trying to make a little bit of money. Then I went out on the field and was a ballboy during the game. So, a lot of great experiences in and around Kenan Stadium and Chapel Hill, and I'm really excited about being back."

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Q: What kind of growth would freshmen experience by contributing on special teams, building their careers, and how does that translate when they eventually move into the full-time roles on offense or defense

PRIEFER: "That's a question that can apply. I coached 21 years in the NFL, the last 17 in the league as a special teams coordinator. Every time we had a rookie, exact same thing. These rookies will come in, if they're not a first or second round draft pick, typically they played and cut their teeth on playing special teams. Then, it evolved into being a starter on offense or defense, if they're good enough. That's the exact same thing that we have here. We have these young players coming in, they don't have to be true freshmen, they could be guys coming from the portal. Different young players that come in and earn their way on special team roles for that matter. Like Coach said, everything's earned here. Nothing's going to be given and that means special teams roles as well. That's the exact same process we're going to have here as we had in the NFL."

Q: Obviously you spent a lot of time in the NFL. When you heard that Bill might come to Chapel Hill, did you talk to him? And then when he got the job, how was that process like?

PRIEFER: "Obviously he's been in the NFL a heck of a lot longer than me, but I had never met Coach Belichick before my interview here on January 16. I came in the room and shook his hand. I think I might have gone against him about 10 times, we beat the Patriots one time in my career so they're always whooping us. The first time I met Coach was in my interview and it was a great interview. Obviously, I've admired him from afar for years, but that interview itself, [and] after a couple hours and it really went well and they offered me a job and I said 'This is really the place where I want to be,' not just because it was Coach Belichick, but also North Carolina itself. It's such a special place. The combination of Bill Belichick in North Carolina was a great combination that I couldn't pass up."