The North Carolina Tar Heels made their long-awaited return to Kenan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, hosting the Charlotte 49ers for their 2024 home football opener.

UNC entered the game off a close, 19-17 victory at Minnesota that came down to a missed field goal in Week 1. Having more than a week to run through practices and adjust to life with Conner Harrell at starting quarterback, North Carolina looked a lot more comfortable offensively.

Despite allowing 20 points to Charlotte, the Tar Heel defense shined again at times. Most notably, UNC held the 49ers to a pair of field goals in the first half. Charlotte drove inside the North Carolina 10-yard line each time, but North Carolina's defense stood like a brick wall.

UNC head coach Mack Brown was very complimentary of his players, while acknowledging they still have lots to improve upon throughout the season. Brown was very happy to be back in Kenan Stadium, making sure to thank the fans and students who supported his team on a gorgeous, late-summer Saturday afternoon.

After the Tar Heels' win, Brown spoke extensively to media about the overall game and highlighted how well his new guys played under pressure. Make sure you read below for a couple of Brown's more memorable postgame quotes:

Mack Brown's general thoughts after UNC's home-opening vcitory

“I wanna congratulate our team, thank our fans and our students," Brown told media after the game. "Our students are so unbelievable. A lot of people came to say thank you for last weeks hard-fought win on the road against Minnesota. So many young guys who played today really helped us. We’ve still gotta be more consistent on offense, we had too many penalties and they threw it over our head a couple times with our defense. So we’ve got to get that stop because when you stop the run, they’re going to have to take deep shots. We can get smoother, we can make better things happen. It’s been two weeks to start the season with a lot of sudden change, let’s just put it that way."

Mack Brown on Conner Harrell playing a full, healthy game

“I thought he handled it really well," Brown said. "We can get Conner running the option like he can – and we will – so we can move him more with boots and nakeds. He had one throw right into a blitz and he’s got to throw that ball away. I think Connor will see that some plays he could’ve kept on the option instead of handing it off or vice versa. I think he will see that there’s some passes where he went short that he could’ve gone deeper. And he did a really good job.”

Mack Brown on how he wants to see Conner Harrell play

“I told the guy, I think he wants to please and he tries so hard," Brown said. He won two state championships in Alabama with packed houses, so he’s got poise. He’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever seen. I think he needs to have more fun and quit trying to please us all. Hopefully after today he’ll be able to do that.”

Mack Brown on UNC's numerous injuries

“Nesbit is upper body and he should be fine," Brown said. "All of those guys would have a chance, I would think, to play next week. But if not, within two. Nnobody is in danger of not playing the rest of the year. Kaimon’s probably a couple of weeks, maybe three but he’s going to be fine. Kaimon’s out there singing, jumping up and down and screaming. He’s just the best. He led the fight song in the locker room after the game.”

Mack Brown on contributions from his younger guys

"Jordan Shipp's screen, he stopped, he planted, looked like an older guy, went north and south and made a great play," Brown said. "He had a bad shoulder for a couple of weeks, so he didn’t get to play. That'll be so much fun to watch him now. What I’ve learned is when those young guys play in a game, they practice so much harder the next week because they think they have a chance to play again. If you’re not playing, then you don’t practice well. I was excited to see Alex Taylor out there, Vari Green out there. Their first time they’ve been in Kenan Stadium in a game, so it has to be a great thrill for them.”

Mack Brown on Davion Gause's big game

“He is a lot like Omarion (Hampton) in that he never speaks," Brown said. "That room doesn’t speak. None of them do. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen and coach Porter doesn’t speak. So they just, it’s like a bunch of guys just sitting in there and watching video. Maybe they’ve got sign language or something, I don’t know. But he’s really cool, he’s mature, he’s tough, he is not emotional at all. We’ve seen that in the spring, we’ve seen it every day in practice. When you see him in a situation he looks like an older player and he’s tough, he’s 220 and he’s got really good vision."

Mack Brown on Christian Hamilton's trick play touchdown reception

“As our offense is growing and we’re learning what Conner and Jacolby can do, you need some trick plays," Brown said. "And that play, I thought it was going to blow up because when the corner came, I thought he hit us in the backfield. And Conner was poised, they were all poised, pitched it back to him. Conner made a great throw and again, it’s really hard to catch a ball when you’re not sure where everybody around you is located, and they can all hit you and he was focused. Usually people drop that ball. And then he was cool enough to step around and John Copenhaver was smart enough not to block in the back and we scored. I thought that pretty much ended the game because they (Charlotte) weren’t going to score many points. And then after that I was disappointed we didn’t score a couple more touchdowns where we kicked field goals.”

Mack Brown on Jahvaree Ritzie's second straight big game

“Jahvaree is confident," Brown said.He’s really healthy for the first time because he’s alwasy had a shoulder, an ankle, he’s always had something.  And i think because he’s playing so well at such a high level and we’re able to substitute for him, keep him fresh, that he’s playing with as much confidence as I’ve ever seen. Pro scouts were in there the other day just buzzing saying “where’d this guy come from?”

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : What Mack Brown said after UNC's big win over Charlotte in 2024 home football opener