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#UNC running back Demon "Juju" June after running for 148 yards and a TD in win over Richmond.
Sep 13, 2025
#UNC running back Demon "Juju" June after running for 148 yards and a TD in win over Richmond.
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0:00
So, Coach Belch said that you were at
0:02
the bottom of the duck check. How far
0:04
what does that mean? How many guys were
0:05
in front of you? And what was the
0:07
feeling like when you're kind of passing
0:09
guys by? And did you sense it from
0:11
passing that time?
0:13
Uh, that's a good question. You don't
0:15
really uh focus on things like that. You
0:17
just, you know, play your game, stay
0:19
down, and try to stay consistent day by
0:21
day. You know, it's a good like good
0:24
compet like good competitive competitive
0:27
competitiveness
0:29
in the room with like other guys like
0:32
Bullet and Hoodie and Ben, you know,
0:35
just having them to push me every day
0:36
to, you know, be able to, you know,
0:38
showcase this stuff. It just felt good.
0:40
But once you're all in the room with
0:42
each other and, you know, trying to
0:44
fight for a spot, you don't really get
0:45
into all those type of things.
0:47
Understood. Quick follow. He he pointed
0:49
it out for a reason.
0:50
Yes, sir. He's trying to articulate, I
0:52
think, what he sees in you. Yes. Since
0:54
you got here, what is it about you that
0:57
you can leap frog guys that quickly
0:58
where you go from bottom of that chart
1:00
to where you are now?
1:02
Um, I feel like it's just, you know,
1:05
staying consistent. You know, coming in
1:07
every day want to get better. You know,
1:08
you with a bunch of guys every day, you
1:10
see other guys getting better, climbing
1:12
up on a dep chart. It just makes you
1:14
want to, you know, be even hungrier to
1:16
showcase what you got.
1:18
Yes, sir. Noah.
1:20
Hey, Noah was off target 247. Curious if
1:23
I told you before this game that this is
1:25
the day you would have, what would your
1:26
reaction to that have been? Sh,
1:28
man. I just said he was lying, man. But
1:31
it it just felt good being out there to,
1:33
you know, playing with the guys, you
1:36
know, finally coming together and just
1:38
giving a little glimpse of all the work
1:40
and stuff we've put in. But it felt
1:42
good. I wouldn't have believed you
1:43
though one bit. Was it almost a sense of
1:46
satisfaction to be able to see know you
1:48
know all the work that you put in behind
1:49
the scenes to be able to finally
1:50
showcase it and sort of break through in
1:52
a sense literally and uh it felt good
1:55
but you got to give credit to the guys
1:57
that put you in the position. So like
1:59
going on the week you know getting those
2:01
reps with the O line the quarterback and
2:03
you know fitting on blocks with the
2:05
receivers and stuff. Just things like
2:07
that just brought it all together.
2:10
Brian.
2:10
Yeah. Two two quick ones.
2:12
How do you spell choo choo? JU Ju
2:14
Ju Ju.
2:15
Yes, sir.
2:16
And then secondly, you committed, I
2:18
believe, to to the old staff.
2:20
Yes.
2:20
Um, what was that process like that?
2:22
There's a whole new staff here and as as
2:24
AJ said, you're at the bottom of the
2:26
depth chart. Like when Coach Brown left
2:28
for Belche came, was there talk about
2:30
going somewhere else and all that?
2:32
Uh, no. You know, being a North Carolina
2:34
kid, you just you always wanted to play
2:35
for this. So when Bill did come, it kind
2:38
of just felt like, okay, here's another
2:40
obstacle you have to go through. But,
2:42
you know, stay down, stay consistent,
2:44
and trust the process, and trust the man
2:46
above with whatever he wants to happen
2:48
for you, and you go with that.
2:51
Go back up here.
2:52
Uh, Brian, can you talk about your
2:54
mentality as a runner? Multiple times it
2:56
seemed like you're dragging people away.
2:58
What's going through your mind? Your
2:59
mentality as a as a runner. Uh, first of
3:02
all, you just want to give credit to the
3:03
O line for, you know, putting you in a
3:05
position to have those type of runs. But
3:08
as far as, you know, going north and
3:10
south, that's the fastest way to get
3:11
somewhere. So, when you're trying to
3:13
score, you just put your head down and
3:15
run.
3:17
Adam Smith within South Carolina.
3:20
What would you say the learning curve of
3:23
playing running back in college has been
3:26
like for you here early on? I mean, you
3:29
had a nice game the other night in
3:30
Charlotte, but it looked like
3:31
you might have made a mistake or two on
3:33
a screen, you know, like what is that
3:36
what has that been like? And has it been
3:38
important just to sort of keep your head
3:39
up
3:40
or keep your head down and just keep
3:41
grinding with all the stuff that's
3:43
getting thrown at you?
3:44
Yes, sir. Uh, like you said, just being
3:46
able to, you know, keep your head up and
3:48
play that next play mentality. Um,
3:50
growing as a player, you take a lot from
3:52
an experienced staff. So, just different
3:54
aspects of the game, different
3:56
situations that, uh, we go through in
3:58
practice and stuff, you know, just kind
3:59
of prepare you for the game. So, yeah.
4:03
Great.
4:04
Hey, um, Grandtorials on that side, you
4:07
know, speaking that, you know, you are a
4:09
North Carolina kid, you know, what does
4:10
it mean for you to play on the Carolina
4:13
to play uh in front of your friends and
4:15
family right here at Keman Stadium? And
4:17
also you were uh the first freshman to
4:20
rush, you know, rush for as many yards
4:22
since uh 2017. Just we hear those type
4:24
of stats. What do you have to say about
4:26
just this night overall?
4:27
Uh it feel it if it was good, but like I
4:30
said, you wouldn't be able to do those
4:31
type of things without the players
4:32
around you. So giving credit to the O
4:35
line for putting me in those positions,
4:36
to the, you know, play caller for, you
4:38
know, opening up those opportunities,
4:40
the quarterbacks, and you know, the
4:42
receivers for picking on their blocks.
4:43
But like, yeah, being a North Carolina
4:45
kid, it just it just feels good to
4:47
represent your state, but it's not a
4:49
oneman game. You know, you play with all
4:50
11. So, yeah.
4:53
Shelby
4:55
observer again, congrats on the game.
4:57
Um, you would want to correct the five
4:59
running backs in the last game at
5:01
Charlotte. Is there any sort of
5:02
discussion ahead of this one of, okay,
5:04
you're going to, you know, earn start,
5:07
get a, you know, majority of the plays
5:09
here and if so, what was that discussion
5:11
with the coaches have? Nah, not really.
5:13
Just, you know, coming in every week
5:16
competing in practice, you know, trying
5:19
to like get your best reps and stuff,
5:22
but at the end of the day, the best best
5:25
man's going out, so it's not like
5:28
it's not like a fuss or argue when those
5:31
type of things come up, but you know,
5:33
you just want to do what's best for the
5:34
team.
5:35
Yeah. Guess a quick follow up. Um, just
5:37
a question earlier that somebody asked
5:39
about, you know, the learning curve and
5:40
everything. Um, what would you say if
5:42
you could pinpoint one thing is the
5:44
biggest thing that you've learned
5:44
through games so far?
5:47
Um, probably just being more aware of
5:50
short yardage situations and stuff like
5:52
that. You know, when you need to scrape
5:54
for those yards or when you have to make
5:56
a move and stuff, you know, just trying
5:58
to move the sticks.
5:59
All right. Yeah. You've shown the
6:01
ability to break tackles and you always
6:04
been able to do that. How are you able
6:06
to do it? How would you describe your
6:08
running style? What makes you able to do
6:10
better?
6:11
Uh, one one be able to do it without the
6:13
line, but again, just knowing that north
6:16
and south gets you to where you got to
6:18
go is the quickest way. So, you know,
6:20
when you're trying to score, you just
6:22
put your head down and run as hard as
6:23
you can. Don't let nothing stop you.
6:26
Did you do you uh Oxy watch? He had a
6:30
way of getting a lot of a lot of yards
6:32
after the s contact as you have been
6:34
able to do.
6:35
Yes, sir. uh watching him, you know, as
6:38
a recruit, it just gave me something to,
6:40
you know, chase for and try to be like,
6:41
"Yes, sir."
6:43
Ryan
6:44
Deont, obviously you've had a great
6:45
career at Jacksonville. When you got
6:48
here, what was kind of your welcome to
6:50
Carolina moment where you're, oh, I'm a
6:52
college running back now. You were like,
6:53
I got a ways to go.
6:55
First weekend pass, you know, you got
6:57
you got that pass pro pickup drill, you
7:00
know, got put on my butt, but it's part
7:03
of the game. And that was just my
7:05
welcome to college moment. But I thank
7:06
the guys for that cuz it's shaped me
7:08
into being the guy I am now.
7:10
Yeah. Thinking back to that first moment
7:12
getting put on your butt out here, first
7:14
time in past, what kind of goes through
7:15
your mind now seeing how far you've come
7:18
and the performance you had today?
7:19
Just coming in dayto day with a new goal
7:22
and something to focus on and getting
7:23
better when you hit the practice field
7:25
and translate that to the game.
7:28
Go to rank and rank.
7:29
Hey Deon rank and ferill 24/7. It sounds
7:31
like from Jordan, you might have caught
7:33
a little bit of a ribbing for not being
7:34
chased down after that first big run.
7:36
How did it feel to then in the fourth
7:38
quarter or the fourth quarter break went
7:40
off and and actually in the end zone
7:42
when you just stay consistent and keep
7:44
your head down and focus on one goal?
7:46
Those things like that will open up for
7:48
you.
7:50
Let's go to Brian.
7:51
The uh coach Belch said on the the short
7:53
one when you broke for the 50 yard that
7:55
that play was really only blocked trying
7:57
to pick up the first down.
7:58
Yeah. Um what what happened in in the
8:00
hole there? Did you break tackle?
8:02
Ju just seeing the gap hit the gap. But
8:05
the O line did their job and creating
8:07
that crease for me. So I give them all
8:09
the credit and the play calling that set
8:11
it up.
8:12
Time for one or two more. Let's go to
8:14
Jeremiah.
8:15
Hey Jerem,
8:18
you won't bomb depart. Is there anything
8:21
that either a friend, family member, a
8:23
past coach has told you from the floor
8:25
that has helped you and stuck with you
8:27
up until now to help you out games until
8:28
today?
8:30
I think it's just kind of within being
8:32
uh being your own self motivator, having
8:36
like those thoughts that like you know
8:39
you can do like what what you can do. So
8:43
that's that's really all I can say about
8:44
it.
8:45
And last one for Aiden here.
8:48
of a Jason Tarles wire. I I was just
8:52
looking up. I know you had that historic
8:55
six touchdown game against last year and
8:58
now your first 100yard college game
9:00
today. Know how how does today's moment
9:04
compare to that or where does today's
9:06
big game for you rank on your list of
9:10
all time achievements?
9:12
They all feel pretty good. But today
9:15
just, you know, just being able to, you
9:18
know, to come together with the guys
9:20
after it being so long for us being able
9:22
to showcase all the stuff that we work
9:25
on. So today definitely is one of those
9:28
highs. But like I said, without the
9:30
other 10 guys, it wouldn't have
9:32
happened.
9:33
Perfect. Good stuff. Thanks so much
9:34
everybody.
9:34
Appreciate you guys.
9:36
Two words or one word?
9:38
Two words.
9:38
Oh, one word.
9:39
One word. Uppercase J. The second J.
9:41
Love him. Just however you want it.
9:44
Okay.
9:44
What do you prefer? What do you prefer?
9:45
Demon or Juju?
9:46
Demon or Ju Guu? It doesn't matter.
9:48
Did I start here or did I start before?
9:50
It started before I kind of grew up with
9:52
it.
9:53
But do you capitalize both gems? Now.
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