One of the more interesting guests joined the CanesInSight podcast for the first time earlier this morning, and outed himself as one of the few CFB players who was actively on the sideline rooting for Miami to beat his team.
Actor Quentin Plair plays Coach Byrd on Hulu's Chad Powers, but before his time on stage, he applied his trade at UNC as a cornerback.
Here's a sneak peek of what he had to say on his path to acting, his love for the Canes and his takes on the 2026 team:
DMoney: I'm going to start with your journey, man, because you're an all-around stud. You look at your profile and you're doing track, you're doing basketball, honor society, and of course playing football. Tell me about your journey to being a Canes fan, and then landing at UNC, where, if the timeline's right, Butch Davis was your coach?
Quentin Plair: When I started watching college football, it was 2001, and there was one team that just looked different than everybody else. They had the orange uniforms, dark-skinned brothers who looked like myself. Back then they had the orange visors. They just looked so smooth.
My favorite player, once I started watching, was Antrel Rolle. I was a corner in high school, so I wanted to be like Antrel Rolle. It was just my team, and I'm a loyal dude. I ended up going through the process and going to North Carolina, but Miami was still my team.
I haven't told anybody this in a long time: Freshman year, we were 3-8, I think, and Miami was still in the running for the ACC championship. They're at our place, and things aren't going well. I think Jacory Harris was the quarterback at the time. I'm on the sideline thinking, man, we're 3-8, we're not going to a bowl game, we don't need this win. I am probably the only Miami fan who was actively on the other sideline still wanting Miami to beat me. This thing goes deep.
Ahmmon Richards: What's harder, studying a script or practice? Practice gets a little muddy, but if you had to weigh it, which one is more challenging?
Quentin Plair: I think this is why a lot of athletes thrive as actors, because the two are very similar. Once you get to a point where you feel comfortable and confident, it comes easy.
There are times now when I go into an audition room and I haven't really looked at the script. I look at it a few times and I know it, because I have that confidence. Same thing when I'm playing well on the field. The plays come easy.
If I had to pick the harder one, I'd say football, because of the physical aspect. There's another man across from you trying to hit you. On screen, there's nobody I've lined up across from where I'm just blown out of proportion. Not everybody's going to be a Jeremiah Smith. No matter how hard you work and study, he might just beat you. Or you might beat him and run a touchdown back in his face, if you're Keionte Scott.
DMoney: I've got to ask you about Butch, because it's somewhat about you but it's also about the Canes. On the interview with Kevin Clark you were talking about Bruce Carter, the linebacker who was one of the fastest linebackers around. The accumulation of talent Butch did in a short period of time was insane. UNC was putting out three first-rounders. They looked like we were supposed to look for a period of time. Knowing the Canes part of his legacy, and then him actually being your coach and seeing how he runs a program, what were your takeaways?
Quentin Plair: It was very obvious that he was a recruiter, and he had recruiters on the staff. He brought a lot of people with him from the league as well. The thing they brought that I hadn't seen before is they made the league seem so attainable. It was, you do this, you do this, you make the league. They instilled so much confidence.
Ahmmon Richards: What are your thoughts so far on the 2026 Canes? We just came off a natty appearance. What's your take on last year's team, and what do you expect from this one?
Quentin Plair: I'm glad we didn't do this Saturday, because I would have been negative coming off Friday.
Watching Friday's game, I realized for the first time: I need to realize this is not the 2025 team. The first couple of games I was still looking at them with those eyes. We've got this elite defense. We've got these monsters on the end. We've got dogs all over the defensive side of the ball. Then I'd look at our offense and think, we've got that plus that defense.
And I'm like, no, no, no. This is a new team. I need to judge them with new eyes and let go of some of those expectations. I was grading the beginning of this team against the finished product of last year, so I came into this season with a bit of that hangover. Now I'm like, okay, it's a new team with new issues and new struggles.
If there's one thing I believe about this staff, it's that they identify problems and they fix problems. A lot of that has been in the offseason. We didn't have a secondary, and Mario completely overhauled the secondary. But I believe they understand the opportunity they have right now with Mensah, and obviously with Mali and Fletcher. We do have guys on defense. They need to gel a little bit, and we need to get healthy. That's the main thing.
Looking at our schedule, if we're not going to get the ACC championship now, I don't know when it's going to happen.
Ahmmon Richards: As former college athletes, I feel like we're almost a character with the helmet on, and then you take it off and maybe you're a different person. Film is kind of like that, leaning into a character. But Hollywood isn't really something that gets pushed on us as athletes. What advice would you give someone who graduates, doesn't know what to do after football, and is curious about that world?
Quentin Plair: One of the things I've said on stage is that as athletes, there's a point in time when you realize you're never going to play the sport again, and part of you dies. I don't mean that in a dramatic way but there's something about competing against somebody else.
But there's a real correlation, those life skills carry over. I think everybody should dip into athletics at some point, maybe not at the college level, just to get yourself ready for life.
Isa: If Coach Byrd had the Miami Hurricanes offense for one game, what's the first play he's calling?
Quentin Plair: Oh, I'm bombing deep. First of all, I want everybody back healthy. Give me Joshua Moore back.
Mali go deep, Joshua Moore go deep, give me Spafford out there, get some speed deep: I'm running go balls. And Mensah, go do your thing. I don't know if it's going to be caught, but I promise the fans would enjoy the way I call plays. All or nothing. We're going for it.
DMoney: Let everybody know where they can find you and support what you're doing.
Quentin Plair: If you want to follow me for Miami purposes, follow my Twitter, because that's where I do all my Miami stuff. Chad Powers is streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Watch the first season, watch the second season, and then watch them both again. And go Canes!
This was one of the most fun conversations we've had on the show. If you want the full thing, including Quentin trying to talk his way into calling plays at Hard Rock, go watch it on the CanesInsight YouTube channel.
Subscribe while you're there. We're on every day.
Actor Quentin Plair plays Coach Byrd on Hulu's Chad Powers, but before his time on stage, he applied his trade at UNC as a cornerback.
Here's a sneak peek of what he had to say on his path to acting, his love for the Canes and his takes on the 2026 team:
DMoney: I'm going to start with your journey, man, because you're an all-around stud. You look at your profile and you're doing track, you're doing basketball, honor society, and of course playing football. Tell me about your journey to being a Canes fan, and then landing at UNC, where, if the timeline's right, Butch Davis was your coach?
Quentin Plair: When I started watching college football, it was 2001, and there was one team that just looked different than everybody else. They had the orange uniforms, dark-skinned brothers who looked like myself. Back then they had the orange visors. They just looked so smooth.
My favorite player, once I started watching, was Antrel Rolle. I was a corner in high school, so I wanted to be like Antrel Rolle. It was just my team, and I'm a loyal dude. I ended up going through the process and going to North Carolina, but Miami was still my team.
I haven't told anybody this in a long time: Freshman year, we were 3-8, I think, and Miami was still in the running for the ACC championship. They're at our place, and things aren't going well. I think Jacory Harris was the quarterback at the time. I'm on the sideline thinking, man, we're 3-8, we're not going to a bowl game, we don't need this win. I am probably the only Miami fan who was actively on the other sideline still wanting Miami to beat me. This thing goes deep.
Ahmmon Richards: What's harder, studying a script or practice? Practice gets a little muddy, but if you had to weigh it, which one is more challenging?
Quentin Plair: I think this is why a lot of athletes thrive as actors, because the two are very similar. Once you get to a point where you feel comfortable and confident, it comes easy.
There are times now when I go into an audition room and I haven't really looked at the script. I look at it a few times and I know it, because I have that confidence. Same thing when I'm playing well on the field. The plays come easy.
If I had to pick the harder one, I'd say football, because of the physical aspect. There's another man across from you trying to hit you. On screen, there's nobody I've lined up across from where I'm just blown out of proportion. Not everybody's going to be a Jeremiah Smith. No matter how hard you work and study, he might just beat you. Or you might beat him and run a touchdown back in his face, if you're Keionte Scott.
DMoney: I've got to ask you about Butch, because it's somewhat about you but it's also about the Canes. On the interview with Kevin Clark you were talking about Bruce Carter, the linebacker who was one of the fastest linebackers around. The accumulation of talent Butch did in a short period of time was insane. UNC was putting out three first-rounders. They looked like we were supposed to look for a period of time. Knowing the Canes part of his legacy, and then him actually being your coach and seeing how he runs a program, what were your takeaways?
Quentin Plair: It was very obvious that he was a recruiter, and he had recruiters on the staff. He brought a lot of people with him from the league as well. The thing they brought that I hadn't seen before is they made the league seem so attainable. It was, you do this, you do this, you make the league. They instilled so much confidence.
Ahmmon Richards: What are your thoughts so far on the 2026 Canes? We just came off a natty appearance. What's your take on last year's team, and what do you expect from this one?
Quentin Plair: I'm glad we didn't do this Saturday, because I would have been negative coming off Friday.
Watching Friday's game, I realized for the first time: I need to realize this is not the 2025 team. The first couple of games I was still looking at them with those eyes. We've got this elite defense. We've got these monsters on the end. We've got dogs all over the defensive side of the ball. Then I'd look at our offense and think, we've got that plus that defense.
And I'm like, no, no, no. This is a new team. I need to judge them with new eyes and let go of some of those expectations. I was grading the beginning of this team against the finished product of last year, so I came into this season with a bit of that hangover. Now I'm like, okay, it's a new team with new issues and new struggles.
If there's one thing I believe about this staff, it's that they identify problems and they fix problems. A lot of that has been in the offseason. We didn't have a secondary, and Mario completely overhauled the secondary. But I believe they understand the opportunity they have right now with Mensah, and obviously with Mali and Fletcher. We do have guys on defense. They need to gel a little bit, and we need to get healthy. That's the main thing.
Looking at our schedule, if we're not going to get the ACC championship now, I don't know when it's going to happen.
Ahmmon Richards: As former college athletes, I feel like we're almost a character with the helmet on, and then you take it off and maybe you're a different person. Film is kind of like that, leaning into a character. But Hollywood isn't really something that gets pushed on us as athletes. What advice would you give someone who graduates, doesn't know what to do after football, and is curious about that world?
Quentin Plair: One of the things I've said on stage is that as athletes, there's a point in time when you realize you're never going to play the sport again, and part of you dies. I don't mean that in a dramatic way but there's something about competing against somebody else.
But there's a real correlation, those life skills carry over. I think everybody should dip into athletics at some point, maybe not at the college level, just to get yourself ready for life.
Isa: If Coach Byrd had the Miami Hurricanes offense for one game, what's the first play he's calling?
Quentin Plair: Oh, I'm bombing deep. First of all, I want everybody back healthy. Give me Joshua Moore back.
Mali go deep, Joshua Moore go deep, give me Spafford out there, get some speed deep: I'm running go balls. And Mensah, go do your thing. I don't know if it's going to be caught, but I promise the fans would enjoy the way I call plays. All or nothing. We're going for it.
DMoney: Let everybody know where they can find you and support what you're doing.
Quentin Plair: If you want to follow me for Miami purposes, follow my Twitter, because that's where I do all my Miami stuff. Chad Powers is streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Watch the first season, watch the second season, and then watch them both again. And go Canes!
This was one of the most fun conversations we've had on the show. If you want the full thing, including Quentin trying to talk his way into calling plays at Hard Rock, go watch it on the CanesInsight YouTube channel.
Subscribe while you're there. We're on every day.
