What's the Vibe Around UNC Football?

Partial Transcript from UNC WR Alex Taylor's press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 23

Q: What was it about the receiver room that made you want to stay in Chapel Hill?

TAYLOR: "Really, we love UNC as a whole. School wise, you know, it's a great education. I mean, a lot of us guys like, we're really close off the field, so just talking to each other, seeing what we were thinking. And then we had a good coach, Coach Belichick, it's hard to pass up on that. Then coach [Garrick] McGee came in and we talked to him, and we had some talks, and we liked everything that he talked about. So, that's really why we just decided to stay together and keep building."

Q: A lot of the senior receivers from last year graduated, who has stepped up as the senior leader throughout camp?

TAYLOR: "I mean, we're a young group, so Coach McGee, he knew that coming in, and he told us we were gonna have to make plays early. So really, everybody's just been making plays, making the most of our opportunity, and that's really just everybody stepping up and getting better each day."

Q: What do you feel were some of the main lessons you learned coming away from your freshman season last year and what would you consider some of the strengths in your game?

TAYLOR: "Really, I learned to just be patient, not waste your time, and make most of your opportunities. You know, I didn't really get a lot to show what I could do last year, so it's kind of a little motivation factor for me, just to show what I can do. And I just learned, you know, just, just be patient in the process. Take your time, learn what you can learn from the older guys, you know, like he said, We had guys like JJ, and they would call him last year, and I learned a lot from them. So just really building off of that and showing the young guys now what I can do. And I feel like some of my strengths are, you know, catching, making some of those 50-50 ball. It's 80-20 real. So just trying to come with any ball, if it's in my way.

Q: Does it feel more "normal" to be coached by Bill Belichick than it did when he came in? Do you still get a lot of questions from friends?

TAYLOR: "Right now? It's definitely normal now, I've been with him since January, so I didn't got to stay with him, have conversation with him, just build over the time. And, you know, it's still kind of crazy thing about like, wow, Bill Belichick is your coach. But, I mean, we're getting close to the season, so it's like, I mean, it's just there. I still kind of get some questions from friends. They're like, so how is he stuff like that? I'm just like, I mean, he's a regular prison, just like us. So it's pretty normal now, I'm used to it."