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#UNC running back Caleb Hood press conference Saturday
Aug 2, 2025
#UNC running back Caleb Hood press conference Saturday
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0:01
So Caleb, I mean, I know you years ago
0:05
you you started several games, you came
0:08
back, kind of took a reserve role, and
0:10
now this year you and Gau and you know,
0:14
French
0:16
talk about your decision to, you know,
0:18
withdraw from the transfer portal, come
0:21
back where you have more of an
0:23
opportunity to get good playing time
0:25
than year one. Um, I think for for me,
0:29
um, I just wanted to play somewhere. Um,
0:31
I feel like Carolina's always been like
0:32
my dream school and, um, you know, I was
0:34
in the portal. Um, I just wanted to go
0:36
play, um, somewhere and just, you know,
0:37
get some playing time, prove to myself I
0:39
can I can be like that guy and um, you
0:41
know, I was, you know, talked to Bichc
0:44
and he wanted me to come back and him
0:45
and Kitchens and Lombardi and, you know,
0:48
I just feel like this is where God
0:49
wanted me to be at the end of the day
0:50
and, um, you know, I just give all all
0:52
credit to God and, uh, yeah, I just this
0:55
is this place for me.
0:58
Caleb, you dealt with your share of
1:00
injuries during your college career.
1:02
With that with that background, how
1:03
inspiring was it for you to see your
1:05
quarterback, Max Johnson, just grinding
1:07
and grinding and grinding for basically
1:09
an entire year to get back to this point
1:12
after he could have lost his leg.
1:14
Um, it's super inspiring. I mean, you
1:16
know, just seeing not even just Max, but
1:17
uh just all the teammates over years. I
1:18
mean, one of my best friends, my big
1:20
brother, um, he was here at Bridget
1:22
Brooks. He uh he had a pretty serious
1:24
injury and you just just him and just
1:26
multiple guys just seeing like what they
1:27
go through on a day-to-day basis. I've
1:29
went through it um is serious and uh it
1:32
plays a big role on like on your mental
1:33
health and uh you know you just you just
1:36
salute guys like that and uh you know
1:37
just try to support them any way you can
1:39
and uh yeah Jeremiah.
1:42
Yeah, of course you guys have you know
1:44
new strength and conditioning everything
1:46
like that. I guess what kind of
1:48
conversations have you had you know as
1:50
far as you know I guess your obviously
1:53
kind of interest things like that I
1:54
guess what kind of conversations have
1:55
you had with him as far as you know next
1:57
steps and stay healthy and like
1:59
I think for me it's just been maturity
2:02
um you know all the steps have been in
2:03
place with coach and uh Amber and Emma
2:05
all the people before and uh you know I
2:08
think for me I just had to take that
2:09
next step and uh do it myself and uh you
2:11
know taking care of my body being
2:12
responsible and uh doing all those
2:14
things and I think I've uh took that
2:16
step And I feel really good
2:19
as an upper classman in this program.
2:21
How do you keep guys focused on passing
2:23
hand?
2:25
Uh just taking it one day one day at a
2:26
time. I mean it's a long season. Um I
2:28
mean regardless and you know just taking
2:30
one day at a time uh just getting better
2:32
every day and uh just staying where our
2:34
feet are. But
2:35
you've seen this program see there's a
2:39
lot more interest now. Yeah, there's a
2:40
lot there's a lot of interest, but at
2:42
the same time, you know, we're we're all
2:44
we're just focused on getting our
2:45
getting better every day and uh being
2:46
oursel and uh you know, whatever happens
2:48
happens.
2:51
We saw a lot of Saturday play. How
2:56
comfortable used to are you in that
3:00
motion? Is that like a timing thing that
3:02
takes a lot of your money or does that
3:04
um we've been going over all spring or
3:06
all winter and uh and then all summer?
3:08
Um so it uh feels pretty good now. Uh it
3:10
was definitely new. Uh first just being
3:12
uh from quarterback to running back in
3:14
shotgun and then just going to under
3:15
center and then some more pro style. But
3:17
uh this has been good move.
3:21
Caleb, you said you were you were in the
3:24
portal and then ultimately came off
3:26
decided to come back. What were those
3:27
conversations like with coach Bellich
3:29
and with the staff and ultimately what
3:31
made you decide to return back to this
3:34
place?
3:34
Um I think just uh they just gave him a
3:38
shot. uh they saw some potential in me.
3:40
um not they were like just oh you're the
3:42
best we got you got to come back but
3:44
they were like hey like you can you can
3:45
really do something if you like put your
3:46
mind to it and you change like work and
3:48
you know I just hearing that from the
3:50
greatest like you can't like really turn
3:51
that down and so you know I just just
3:54
wanted to challenge myself so that was
3:56
the biggest thing
4:00
I'm not ding anybody
4:04
wanted to ask you about sort of the
4:06
increased emphasis on on playing with
4:09
physicality
4:10
Um, you know, that's something Delich
4:11
has talked about and he was saying
4:13
earlier today about how Freddy's system
4:16
that he's installing, you know, there
4:18
needs to be, you know, a focus on that
4:21
physical. How have you seen that through
4:23
practicing and and what you guys want to
4:25
do now in that sort of way?
4:28
Um, it's really just mindset. I know
4:30
coach coach Kitchens as soon as he uh
4:31
took over like in the uh like during
4:33
bowl practice we we were doing hitting
4:35
drills like mid practice he'll just blow
4:36
the whistle we in the middle of the
4:38
field and uh so it just kind of started
4:40
there and it just kept going like he
4:41
just it's just a big emphasis and I mean
4:43
it's really just a mentality you can't
4:45
like you can go out there and be
4:46
physical any day you want like any y'all
4:48
can so um but at the end of the day it's
4:51
just about just mentality and uh if you
4:53
want to for real so
4:55
do you think you guys have been getting
4:56
too soft that was that was one of the
4:58
criticisms I ain't going to speak on LA
5:00
past or future. I think right now we're
5:02
focused on uh getting better and being
5:04
more physical and I think we're doing a
5:05
pretty good job with that. But I
5:06
appreciate you.
5:07
Last question for Andrew.
5:08
Are you leaner now? You look a little
5:10
bit leaner out there today watching.
5:11
Uh yes, sir. Yeah, I am.
5:13
How much weight are you playing? How
5:14
much weight have you lost from last
5:16
year? And who's your what's your body
5:17
fat right now?
5:18
I'm not sure about the numbers and
5:20
stuff, but I know I lost 10 pounds and
5:22
uh you know, I feel feel a lot better, a
5:23
lot lighter, a lot quicker on my feet.
5:25
So, you know, hopefully I can uh play
5:26
into my gain this year. was part of this
5:28
because of the injuries maybe a little
5:30
more to avoid some.
5:31
Yeah, for sure. Definitely. So, that was
5:34
a big part.
5:35
All right. Good stuff, Kevin. Appreciate
5:36
it.
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