Q&A with new football coaches at UNC, N.C. State

N.C. State football coach Tom O'Brien's first encounter with North Carolina's Butch Davis was memorable. O'Brien was coaching at Boston College and attending his first Big East Conference media day at the New Jersey Meadowlands, and Davis was the coach at Miami.

After making his remarks, O'Brien collided with Davis as the two passed on the podium. "I bumped into him and almost went flying off the stage," a smiling O'Brien said Tuesday. "I reminded him of that this week. He said, 'I didn't do that on purpose.' "

Once Big East rivals, they're now Big Four rivals. They'll go nose to nose for recruits. They'll try to bump each other off the ACC stage. They'll be measured against each other.

On Tuesday, each sat down to answer questions from the media. Here's a sampling.

Q&A WITH N.C. STATE'S TOM O'BRIEN

Q. Do you have a feeling which of your former staff members will come to NCSU?

A. "I do, but I'd rather not get into all that right now until I talk to all of them. ... Some of them have ties up there, parents and different things they have to be concerned with. I can understand that, and whatever their decisions are, I support them wholeheartedly."

Q. Have you talked to former NCSU assistants?

A. "I've talked to everybody on the staff here ... basically trying to figure out, in Marine Corps terms, the table of organization. ... I've talked with people on the staff here to get a feel for if there's some staff openings whether I stay with some of the staff members here or go outside."

Q. What about meeting with the players?

A. "I've asked the players to come up. I would guess more than half of them have stopped by. ... Most of them haven't been very shy. They've asked some pretty good questions, so I feel pretty good about that."

Q. How much recruiting have you done?

A. "I went to the Shrine [Bowl] banquet and I went to the Shrine luncheon. I've been on the phone with most [NCSU commitments]. I haven't made any visits with anybody because I didn't want to use them up. ... I want to make sure I did it smartly and wisely."

Q. How did you prioritize your first 10 days on the job?

A. "I think the first thing was to try and get on the phone with as many recruits, because there still was an unlimited call time [to] talk to recruits and recruits' parents. Just introduce myself on the phone. I did the same thing with many of the high school coaches across the region ... and try to establish those relationships."

Q.Will the players who committed to NCSU honor their commitments?

A. "I would hope, but that's yet to be determined. Obviously when there's a coaching change, it's like open season."

Q.What were your perceptions about NCSU, as a program and a school, before you got here? And have they changed?

A. I knew something about the school and program being [an assistant at Virginia] for 15 years. Getting off the bus [for the State-BC game] and looking at these facilities and thinking there's been a major commitment here by the administration ... to be a top-flight football team.

"To put it in perspective, we're at Florida State and my safety from San Diego is standing next to me and I said, 'Are you scared?' He said, 'No, Coach, I played at N.C. State.' So just the perception of that night, the way the crowd was, it wasn't lost on our football team. All that with the ability to sell the state university, to be in the heart of ACC country."

Q. Have you had a chance to speak with former coach Chuck Amato?

A. "No, I have not. I think in time. ... I don't think this is the right time. He probably needs some distance."