Tar Heels have fun with Wolfpack remark

North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams smiled when the question was asked Tuesday, knowing it would come as assuredly as a blitz on third-and-long.

On Monday, N.C. State safety Hakim Jones first praised Williams, then he implied the quarterback would shy away from contact, saying, “After you hit him a few times he basically almost quits because he doesn’t like to get hit, although he runs the ball a lot in the game. Once you hit him a few times he’s going to hesitate going to the hole.”

That made its way to Twitter in a few quick clicks, filtered into Chapel Hill and quickly spiced up an old rivalry very early in game week.

Williams’ reaction?

“I don’t know. I love competing and I thought it was funny that he said that,” Williams said after practice. “That’s the thing. You have to hype the game up. Both our teams don’t get too much respect around the area and a lot of people don’t look at it as a football school.

“But I’m excited for the opportunity to go out and compete with him. I know he’ll bring a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm to this game. I’m excited to go compete against those guys.”

The Tar Heels and Wolfpack will face off Saturday at Kenan Stadium. Both have qualified for bowls, gotten that piece of business out of the way. UNC will be after a third straight victory against the Wolfpack – a source of pride for the Tar Heels and a sore spot for the Wolfpack.

Williams has been instrumental in North Carolina’s surge during the second half of the season, arguably playing as well as any quarterback in the ACC. Regardless of what was said – or not said – he will be the focal point of the Wolfpack defense.

Now, there’s a little added incentive.

Williams said he was on his way to class Monday when he was told by coach Larry Fedora about Jones’ remarks, that he had said he wasn’t very tough.

“I was like, ‘Oh,’ ” Williams said. “It was kind of shocking to me. I laughed in that situation and said, ‘Well, I guess we’ll have to see on Saturday.’ ”

UNC wide receiver Ryan Switzer said the players had been told not to talk about Jones’ comments – but couldn’t resist.

“They can say what they want,” he said. “We know Marquise. We know how tough he is. He doesn’t have to prove nothing to us.

“I don’t need words to fuel any game. To me that just shows a lack of confidence, when you’ve got to talk before (the game). We’re going to focus on us and play the game how it’s supposed to be played.”

Switzer said he first heard of Jones’ comments at lunch and soon was joking with Williams, a junior from Charlotte.

“I kind of bumped Marquise and he flopped a little bit,” Switzer said, grinning. “We had fun with it.

“But I mean, it is what it is. I guess that’s their strategy.”

So much for the mind games. While Williams is a running threat the Wolfpack must contain, sophomore tailback T.J. Logan had a season-high 116 yards rushing in a 45-20 victory at then-No. 25 Duke last week.

A key, Logan said, could be maintaining a quick tempo against a Wolfpack defense that has had its problems.

“I feel like if we pick up the pace, they might get tired,” Logan said. “So we’ll try to do that, pick up the game speed as much as we can.”

Against Duke, it was a Thursday night ESPN game and UNC ended a two-year losing streak against the Blue Devils. It was a big win and UNC’s celebration caused embarrassment – and necessitated an apology – when spray-paint damage was done to the visitors’ locker room of Duke’s practice facility.

“We’re so happy and excited, so we sometimes lose it a little bit,” Logan said.

This game will be at home, and it has a different feel, Williams said.

“When you think of Duke and Carolina, you think of basketball and the history of that rivalry,” he said. “I think of North Carolina and North Carolina State as a football rivalry.

“Our fans go back and forth the whole year – who’s better, what’s going on over here, what’s going up there. It’s going to be a great environment on Saturday and I hope we can come out with this win.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2014 at 8:09 PM.