Q&A with UNC football's Jack Tabb

_The North Carolina football team has been plagued with injuries on the defensive end of the ball throughout training camp this August. To compensate for those injuries, the coaching staff has placed junior tight end Jack Tabb with the linebacker corps to provide depth at the position.

Staff writer Max Miceli spoke with Tabb about training camp and his transition to defense this preseason._

DAILY TAR HEEL: You’re a couple weeks away from opening up the season against South Carolina , and you have been through a few weeks of practice. How do you feel at this point in camp?

JACK TABB: I’m feeling really good. The offense is doing really well. I haven’t been with them in a few days, but coach (Walt) Bell and coach (Blake) Anderson told me they’re still doing really well over there. It looks like they’re still doing really well.

On the defensive side, since I’ve been over here for a few days, we’re really making strides to make sure we’re ready for South Carolina.

DTH: What are some of the pros and cons to training camp from a player’s perspective?

JT: You know, it’s all about how you make it. If you make it miserable it’s going to be miserable. If you make it fun with all your friends, it’s going to be fun.

DTH: Obviously training camp can be exhausting, but isn’t it rewarding at the same time? Do you maybe even like getting up early to come?

JT: I wouldn’t say I love getting up in the morning, but… Once you’re done getting the stuff you need to get done throughout the day, it feels good once you’re finished.

DTH: You’ve made a move from tight end to linebacker recently. How are you starting to feel it out now that you’ve had a couple practices under your belt? You said at your first practice there was a lot of, ‘See ball. Hit ball.’ Is it a little more than that now?

JT: It definitely is a little bit more than that now. This defense is pretty complicated, but coach Vic (Koenning)and coach (Ron) West have helped me adjust to it so I can pick up the schemes pretty well. It’s pretty fun.

DTH: With the recent move, how much do you see yourself contributing on the offensive end of the ball now?

JT: I plan on being just as big a contributor as everyone else. Me and Eric Ebron switch out (as the starters). I plan on coming out here and making a lot of big plays — on offense and defense.

DTH: What do you think of the possibility now that you could potentially play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball in the same game?

JT: That’s interesting. It’s extremely exciting. It’s truly an honor. Especially because I personally don’t know of that many people that have been able to play both ways in college. So I think it’s a blessing to do both.

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