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#UNC defensive backs Thaddeus Dixon and Will Hardy at press availability Thursday morning.
Jul 24, 2025
#ACCKickoff
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0:01
questions for T.
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Yeah, D. Um, looking at, you know,
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obviously having been able to go through
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the spring and, you know, get to know
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some of their teammates and things like
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that and obviously having the reps on
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the field, how would you kind of
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characterize what this year's UNCC
0:13
defense would look like? If you had to
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kind of describe it, how would you
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describe it?
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Uh, tough, physical, smart, dependable.
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Um, you know, just all them
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characteristics is what we've been
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working on for the past like 20 weeks.
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Just going at it hard every day, things
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like that. Um, we'll be a uh a real
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tight-knit defense. You know, one that
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communicates a lot, flies to the ball,
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never gets tired, things like that.
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Um, what's the biggest challenge you
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think you guys would face going into
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this season within the roster?
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Um, I'll probably just say getting
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better every day, going one and0 every
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day. Uh, coming together as a team. I
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mean, as y'all know, we got a lot of new
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faces and things like that. Um, a lot of
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new faces. So, you know, really just
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coming together as a team and making
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sure we can all put our best foot
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forward every day and just make sure we
1:01
taking the right strides each and every
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day.
1:03
Do you have any idea of how long it may
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take you guys to actually figure out how
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to play together? Like, does it have to
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happen in actual games before you
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totally know if you're have built that
1:12
chemistry or
1:13
Nah, you built that chemistry in the
1:15
offseason. Um, we all suffered together
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in a in a strenuous strength program.
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So, you know, just when you know what
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your brother's going through every day
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and you know, y'all are attacking the
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same workouts, going through the same
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thing every day. I mean, it builds a
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type of camaraderie that, you know, you
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could take into the season without
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playing the game.
1:31
What's it like being here? So much hype
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around you guys. A lot of it because
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you're you're head coach, but you're
1:36
here big media day and a lot of eyes
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around you. What's that like so far?
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Um, you know, it's been great. I mean, I
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just got here, you know, we had a nice
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little twohour uh two-hour little drive,
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but you know, it's been great. Uh, you
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know, Coach Bichc, you know, he does a
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lot for the program, bringing a lot of
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good eyes to the program, but at the end
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of the day, man, we got to go out there
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and play football. You know, he can't
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make no plays. Ted,
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I know we were asking you about it when
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we talked to you the last time, but in
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terms of the defense y'all ran at
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Washington under Steve like is it pretty
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much carbon copy of what you guys are
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doing here? Like, what are the what are
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the similarities and the differences
2:09
that you see having been in it?
2:11
Yeah, so the the defense we ran at
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Washington was the 2024 Washington
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defense. Uh, Coach Steve is emphasizing
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the 2025 University of North Carolina
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defense. So, two completely different
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defenses. Um, definitely not the same.
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We got we got new players, uh, a whole
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lot of new pieces. So, um, you know, you
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y'all have to see on week one.
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To follow up on that, like, do you have
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to in all seriousness, do you have to
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like sort of be a teacher, too, since
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you played in the scheme before and
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there's so many just different people
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from all over?
2:44
Yeah. as a vet and a guy who's played in
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the defense. Um, obviously, you know, a
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lot of the younger guys, they come up to
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me to ask questions about the defense.
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And I mean, I got nothing but game to
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give them. So, yeah, anytime somebody
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has a question or if they don't know
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something, I mean, I'm always the first
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one to go up there and, you know, try to
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get on the board with them and help them
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learn like, you know, what I know.
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Anything else with that?
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All right. Good stuff.
3:06
Thanks, sir. Appreciate.
3:08
So, you got to be fast.
3:09
Yeah, of course. Well, as somebody who's
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played for USC for a while and you've
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seen the defenses of your class and how
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you're willing to play under this
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defense, what kind of similarities and
3:19
differences are you?
3:20
Yeah, I think at the end of the day,
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defense, there's only so much scheme you
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can have. So, um, it's new we have, it's
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a lot of things I've done in the past,
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but you know, maybe, you know, different
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tendencies that we have. Um, we for sure
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have a lot more freedom as safeties with
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the ability to just make adjustments
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ourselves, which I've loved. Having
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doing that in the spring is awesome. Um,
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just being able to go back there and,
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you know, make adjustments, be flexible.
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Uh, it's given me more freedom and I
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think it'll lead to a lot more success
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this year.
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Belch's known for situational football
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like the Malcolm Butler playing the
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Super Bowl, like actually coached for
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that in a way. Has there been anything
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that stood out to you of situations that
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you've prepared for that you never even
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imagined?
3:58
Yeah. I mean, even just in spring ball,
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we did a lot of situational football. So
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third downs uh you know red zone two
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minute um we did this one you know red
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zone lockout where offense goes against
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defense we just go back and forth in the
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red zone and that's where games were won
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and loss you know where the points are
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you know counted in the red zone so even
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just like that and then watching film
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you know with coach Bich his emphasis on
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situational awareness and just teaching
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us you know when to do what and why
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we're doing things has been really cool
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to see.
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Well we've seen that season tickets are
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sold out. You guys obviously have a lot
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of hype behind the program tied to the
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new head coach. How different has it
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been as somebody that's been here um you
4:37
know last year to this year?
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Yeah, it's it's been good. It's been a
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lot of new good um things. I think the
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um you know, the crowd and and the um
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just the fans getting more involved this
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year is what something I'm looking
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forward to a lot. You know, that first
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game against CCU is going to be really
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exciting Monday night on ESPN. So, um
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man, the tension's building and we're
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looking forward to excited to start fall
4:57
camp soon. How are the fans getting more
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going? You just mentioned that.
5:00
Yeah, I mean just like you said like the
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ticket sales, I mean seeing that this
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early and every single game is already
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sold out. Um that's just one way and I I
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just I I sort of expect some more um
5:12
coming this year just because of you
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know what our team's going to bring a
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lot of new um exciting stuff. Caroline,
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I said that in the past about the season
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tickets being sold out in the the
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individual game tickets for something
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and it seems like the release is there's
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not a ticket available for any seat in
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any game. But that's not the way it's
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always worked out for Carolina. If it's
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a not a high-profile opponent or the
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team isn't doing very well, a lot of
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people don't show up. So, uh, is there a
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different, uh, a different enthusiasm
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from the fans that you noticed?
5:48
Yeah, I mean, it's hard to tell, you
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know, in the offseason as of right now,
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but I'm looking forward to that first
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game and then as we continue to have
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success, I expect it to continue the
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rest of the year.
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Will being so close uh and being coached
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by all three Bells, like what do you
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when you see them working together or
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talking together or doing whatever it is
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they do, like how do you sort of process
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that? I mean, what are they like as a
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group
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together? Yeah, it's been a cool dynamic
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to see um coach Brian Bichc and even
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coach Steve Bichc just working on
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defense together. They, you know, they
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grow up grew up with their father um and
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know this game in and out. And so they
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all, you know, they'll go back and forth
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debating things, but they all know the
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scheme and it's been easy for them to
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coach it directly to us. But it's just
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been cool to see cuz, you know, me, my
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brother played for my dad and so it's
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sort of that similar, you know,
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father-son dynamic. Um that's always
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special to be a part of.
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Do they have their own language? Like is
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there sometimes you're like what the
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heck are these people?
6:44
Uh not necessarily, but just the kind of
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going back and forth. Um you can tell
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it's a little bit different relationship
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than just a regular assistant coach and
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coach.
6:53
Well, when you look at obviously going
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into this year, you had the spring
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practice, a lot of, you know, new guys.
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We talked about that a little bit last
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month. Now you're going to have an
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influx of, you know, kind of some other
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guys that come in through the portal.
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From your vantage point, how long maybe
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do you think it'll take to, you know,
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kind of get guys to jail and and develop
7:08
chemistry?
7:09
Yeah, we we've been working that on that
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a lot this summer, even during workouts.
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Um, and once we start fall camp, those
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first couple practices are big just to
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sort of get the ground uh rolling and
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uh, you know, get getting connected on
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offense and defensive level, but I think
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it'll be smooth.
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All right, we got to wrap up everyone.
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Sorry about that. So we got to do