■ 15 September 2008 | 7:57 PM
Katchin' up with Kam ...
Hey, gang … Not feeling too well tonite – still got a bad back, thanks to a drunk driver that hit me back in the spring – so I’m going to be hitting the hay early.
But I did hobble over to practice today (well, to the end of it) and grab a few interviews. You only get one for now.
A lot of folks have been wondering what’s up with FS Kam Chancellor, who some in the program have said could be the greatest safety in Tech history. But he has struggled with his move from corner (freshman) to rover (sophomore) to free safety this year.
He missed 6 of 12 tackle opportunities against East Carolina and was a big of a non-factor in the Furman game. And, of course, fans surely still have the image of a receiver running open, behind Chancellor, deep down the middle of the field late in the Georgia Tech game Saturday.
Lucky for the Hokies, that ball was overthrown. Kam talks about that, and some of his struggles, right here …
FS KAM CHANCELLOR
ON HOW HE HAS PLAYED SO FAR: “Not to my full potential, but I think I improved a lot in this last game, Georgia Tech, as far as my tackling and stuff. I got a lot better. The game’s slowing down for me.”
ON WHETHER THE TRANSITION TO FREE SAFETY WAS HARDER THAN HE EXPECTED: “Not really. I think it’s just the fact that I’m so anxious to play most of the games and it’s kind of messed me up a little bit. But I’m slowing down now, just letting the game come to me now.”
ON THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT THE POSITION: “Just trusting my reads. Sometimes I second-guess. But if I trust my reads, I’ll make more big plays. I just have to trust it.”
ON WHETHER HE HAS TO THINK MORE AT FREE SAFETY: “Just when I’m reading, but as far as calling the plays, the checks, it all comes natural. It’s really just getting my pass reads from the safety spot.”
ON THE DEEP PASS THAT WAS SAILING OVER HIM LATE, WITH A RECEIVER PAST HIM: “All I was thinking was either the ball’s going to slow down and I’m going to catch it or he’s going to catch it and I’m going to catch him. I wasn’t going to let him score. I’ve got too much pride to let somebody just burn me.”
ON WHETHER HE WAS NERVOUS: “Maybe just a little, because they would’ve had good field position. So maybe a little.”
ON WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT PLAY: “It was a miscommunication between me and the whip (Cody Grimm). I kind of got a bad read on that play. I was going to do another job, but I seen a man coming up the field free, so I tried to help out the whip. And he kind of let him go, which through me off-balance and I started trailing behind him. Just a miscommunication.”
ON WHETHER, THEN, THAT RECEIVER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HIS MAN: “No, not at all.”
ON WHETHER UNC WILL PRESENT THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET TO THE SECONDARY: “Yeah, I think it is. They’ve got a good receiving corps, a good quarterback. They’ve got a good offense, and they’re going to challenge us. They’ve got a little height to them. They’re good-size receivers, got good speed. They make some tough catches on film. Just a talented group.”
ON SEEING MORE RUNNING-ORIENTED OFFENSE THE FIRST THREE GAMES AND THIS LIKELY BEING A BIG TEST OF PASS COVERAGE: “This will show how we come together as a team, when the competition gets tougher. This is better competition than we’ve played and we need to play better.”
ON WHAT THE GEORGIA TECH WIN DID FOR A YOUNG DEFENSE: “It proved we are a good-tackling team and we can be physical. It proved we can fight to the end, that we play all 60 minutes.”
ON WHETHER IT HELPED THEIR CONFIDENCE TO MAKE THE BIG STOP AT THE END AGAINST GEORGIA TECH: “It did. Any team can get a play here or there on you. But I say one or two big plays won’t beat you. It’s how you finish it off at the end.”
ON UNC RECEIVER BRANDON TATE: “He’s a good athlete, and he’ll make us execute the game plan or he’ll beat us.”
ON WHETHER HE’S DISAPPOINTED AT ALL SO FAR: “Not really. We’ve got a loss, and that’s disappointing because I hate losing. But as the season goes, we are going to get better every game.”
ON ANY DISAPPOINTMENT PERSONALLY: “I was rushing the first game, but like I said, now I’m letting the game come to me. I’ve slowed down and I’m playing my role.”
ON WHAT SECONARY COACH TORRIAN GRAY HAS SAID TO HIM: “He knows that I’m a better player than the things he’s seen me doing on the film. He just pushes me harder in practice to make sure I’m good on reads and coverages and doing the little things right. T. Gray, he’s an excellent coach. He always puts you in position to make plays. It’s up to you, though, to make them. He’s spent more time with us doing tackling drills and footwork drills, and just game-planning, he helps us know what the offense is going to do before they even run the play.”
ON WHERE THE BREAKDOWN HAS BEEN IN HIS TACKLING FORM: “Because I always want to run through people and make the big hit. Sometimes, you can’t do that. You’ve got to be fundamental, break down, make the tackle and get to the next play.”
*** Sorry there’s not more, but typing and muscle-relaxers are a bad mix. See you back here tomorrow, guys and gals.
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