Coach Bateman on Handling His Defense and the Challenges of Going Virtual

UNC Defensive Coordinator, Jay Bateman, spoke with media today to discuss the challenges he's facing and preparing his team for next season.

Coach Jay Bateman brought up a valid point during his presser today, "We are all facing this challenge." During this challenging time, media, us included, can be so caught up in how sports are doing and how they're adapting and what's so different; at the end of the day, this isn't a "sports" problem, but "we." We are all adapting to something none of us have ever faced before, and the challenges coaches are facing, regular people are too. Being able to have conferences, instruct employees, or just the simplicity of checking in, we are all invested in how technology can get us over this hump.

Bateman met with reporters today via Zoom and offered insight on how he's progressing with his new challenge.

"I think it's a challenge, but it's a challenge that everyone else is facing, too, right? So, I think when you have to face a challenge, the thing you can probably do is 'Hey, what's the best way for me to attack this thing?' and I think Coach Brown's mindset has been that way and I think we did a really good job. I feel really good about our preparation, how our kids are responding, and the enemy gets a vote, right? So, everybody's got to deal with the virus the same way. So our thing is, whatever you get dealt with, you deal with it, attack it the best way you can and come out more positive than your opponents."

When asked if he's worried about his team not being able to perform due to a possible shorter camp, Bateman stated that the extension of last year with the Military Bowl game put them ahead of the curve,

"I think if it had been a year ago, it would've been really hard. I think if you're a new staff right now, it's difficult. With the time we had spent with them going to the bowl game, and having those extra practices helped a lot. I played Division III football; we came back the day before camp started, and we knew what we were doing by the time game started. I'm pretty confident with our kids and with the things we been doing. We have been installing new stuff; its not the ideal situation because we haven't been able to practice any of it. Whenever we get back, we will hit the ground running."