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USA Today
20 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Where does famed college football sportswriter rank UNC ahead of 2025 season?
Can UNC put together a complete season on the football field this fall? In just over a month, you'll be glued to your couches watching college football. Week Zero will kick off August 23, featuring Iowa State and Kansas State in the Aer Lingus Classic from Dublin (Ireland), then your North Carolina Tar Heels face TCU on September 1 at 8 p.m. UNC enters its 2025 campaign with heightened expectations, due to the offseason hiring of Bill Belichick as head coach, but also plenty of unknown. North Carolina replaced a good portion of its starters through the transfer portal, most notably with quarterback Gio Lopez, while also landing freshmen expected to make immediate impacts from Day One. Speaking of the Tar Heels, where are they ranked ahead of this coming season? In the following On3 Sports article, Phil Steele ranks UNC 57th. North Carolina is one spot behind Arizona, which finished 2024 with its sixth losing season in seven years, plus a slot ahead of Tulane – coached by Jon Summrall. The Tar Heels will be tested early in their schedule, hosting 2022 CFP runner-up TCU at 8 p.m. on Labor Day. UNC should have two easy wins after playing the Horned Frogs, with a trip to Charlotte and a home date with Richmond on September 13, then face a tough challenge at UCF before a bye week. North Carolina will host Clemson on October 4, then enter its second bye week. California and Virginia are two beatable teams, then a road date with Syracuse on Halloween will be testing. Stanford, Wake Forest, Duke and NC State close out the Tar Heels' schedule. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
North Carolina football way-too-early bold predictions for 2025 season
The post North Carolina football way-too-early bold predictions for 2025 season appeared first on ClutchPoints. North Carolina football will run out of the Kenan Memorial Stadium tunnel for its most scrutinized season ever. Bill Belichick now leads the Tar Heels out. Advertisement The legendary head coach and eight-time Super Bowl winner stunned the world by accepting UNC's position. Giving the CFB realm a try. Belichick already has delivered rough and high moments. The former involves his widely publicized relationship with Jordon Hudson. With a disastrous CBS Morning News interview involving her. But the high moments involve the college football recruiting wins he's gathered. Including recently grabbing ex-Alabama commit Jamarrion Gordon. He's put together the nation's 18th ranked 2026 class per 247Sports. Yet how many wins can Belichick's first Heels team collect? Time for some way-too-early bold predictions. Starting with who we believe becomes Belichick's opening day starting quarterback. Advertisement Gio Lopez will handle North Carolina QB1 duties early © Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Belichick brings experience and a past 3,000-yard passer into Chapel Hill. Gio Lopez arrives via South Alabama, choosing UNC back on April 17. This rules out returner Max Johnson for the opener against TCU. Johnson's health is still too be determined. That's why Lopez earns the nod. Johnson is coming back from a severe leg injury that wiped out his 2024 campaign. Belichick shared a promising update on Johnson, though, in June. The '24 opening day starter is further along his rehab. Lopez, though, brings two advantages that point to him handling the bulk of the starting duties. He's a dual-threat passer who opens up the offense constructed by Freddie Kitchens. Plus, he's realistically Belichick's first QB arrival — giving him the potential to lead his team right away. Advertisement Belichick also likely doesn't want to chance Johnson's leg right off the bat against the Horned Frogs. But this leads to the next prediction. Belichick will have an early QB dilemma © Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Johnson is fighting tooth and nail to return to the huddle. The sixth-year senior won't want to spend his entire comeback journey on the sidelines. UNC finds itself in a QB battle early. Something Belichick seen before during his New England Patriots days post Tom Brady. Belichick likely uses the first four games to gain a feel of who leads this offense. Or turns to the UCF road contest to name his permanent starter. Regardless, he must decide before Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson pulls into Chapel Hill. Advertisement Heavy dose of this North Carolina playmaker is needed Bob Donnan-Imagn Images The incoming head coach would've loved turning to Omarion Hampton. But he opted for the 2025 NFL Draft. UNC opens up backfield competition for the fall. The rest of the skills group present multiple new faces. All three leading wideouts are off to the league. Javarius Green will need to grow fast under Belichick for this offense. The freshman is already a contender for kickoff return duties. Belichick is familiar with his father Willie — who played for the Denver Broncos' back-to-back title teams of the late 1990s. UNC needs his speed to excite a curious fan base on how Belichick's first team will fare. Advertisement Belichick gets rough intro into college football © Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images The CBS interview looks like a prelude of things to come on Belichick's side. It's not just his coaching style for CFB kids that'll get closely monitored. But his composure too, amid all the distractions and criticism surrounding him. He and UNC must know fan bases will attempt to get into his head. Likely way worse than 'Bills Mafia' and the New York Jets home crowd. He'll especially see memes and signs created for Hudson to distract him. Outside of his polarizing relationship, Belichick must figure out his QB immediately. Fortunately the three toughest games of TCU, Clemson and Duke are in Chapel Hill. But fans will turn on Belichick quick if Charlotte and Richmond stun the 'Heels. Five wins is the ceiling here for his first Tar Heels team. Related: Oregon football way-too-early bold predictions for 2025 season Related: 2026 WR chooses Alabama Crimson Tide over Penn State, Notre Dame
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL analyst has praise for UNC quarterback
What did an NFL analyst have to say about UNC quarterback Gio Lopez? We are just a few months away from the official start of the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill when the Tar Heels host TCU on Labor Day Weekend. When UNC hits the field, they will have a new starting quarterback at the helm as Gio Lopez and Bryce Baker will battle it out for the starting job. And early on, it appears as if Lopez has the upper hand. The former South Alabama quarterback transferred to North Carolina in the Spring and could make an immediate impact right away. While we have only seen UNC on the field for Spring practices, Lopez is impressing already in the eyes of an NFL analyst. Lopez participated in the Manning Passing Academy this past week and Todd McShay came away impressed with the quarterback, especially in one area. Here is what McShay wrote on Lopez: Lopez transferred from South Alabama to become Bill Belichick's first college QB. He's short but has BIG arm talent and killed it in the QB competition over the weekend. The deep ball specifically is beautiful and it's clear he has a lot of confidence in his arm. There was a lot of talented quarterbacks in the prestigious event that is hosted annually, so for Lopez to stand out in an area is a good thing. Now, let's hope that translates to the field when the Tar Heels begin this season. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bill Belichick says QB competition will be good
One of the biggest questions going into the 2025 season for the North Carolina Tar Heels will be at the quarterback position. UNC saw a revolving door last year, their first season without Sam Howell or Drake Maye since 2018. And as the Tar Heels struggled with consistency at that position a year go, they have a stronger depth chart going into this season. North Carolina addressed the position by adding Gio Lopez out of the transfer portal while also welcoming in freshmen Bryce Baker and Au'tori Newkirk. Max Johnson is also back after missing almost all of last season, suffering a leg injury in the week 1 win over Minnesota. Advertisement Head coach Bill Belichick believes the competition will be good at the position and benefit the guys. "Well, again, at the quarterback position, we have five players there including the two freshmen who are coming in. Bryce is the only one that was here in the spring," Belichick said in his pre-Summer press conference via Inside Carolina. "Max was here, but wasn't able to participate much. And, of course, Gio is new. So I think, as we see the offense evolve, it'll obviously be reflective of how those quarterbacks do and how that position shapes up. So I think we have good competition there, and our offense is our offense, and we'll be able to adapt to whoever it is." With the quarterbacks having different skill sets, Belichick was asked if having multiple options impacts is quarterback philosophy. It doesn't seem to be a problem for him and the offense. "We've certainly had a lot of quarterbacks through the years with different skillsets, and we're able to work with all of them," Belichick said. "But we'll see how it all plays out. So right now, that position is one that we just don't have a lot of on-field experience with. And again, even though Max was here, he just wasn't able to participate in any of the team drills. So you know, it kind of also includes him, even though he's a very experienced player." Advertisement As it stands right now, Lopez appears to be the favorite to be the starter, but the status of Johnson as well as how Baker does in camp could impact things. It's something to keep an eye on this Summer and as practices begin. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Bill Belichick believes UNC football QB competition will be good
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
ESPN ranks UNC's 2026 football recruiting class in top 25 nationally
Barring late transfer portal commitments, the North Carolina Tar Heels have their football roster set for the 2025 season. There will be plenty new faces on UNC this fall, most of which came from the portal. Among the notable additions for North Carolina are quarterback Gio Lopez (South Alabama), linebacker Mikai Gbayor (Missouri) and defensive tackle D'Antre Robinson (Florida). Advertisement The Tar Heels also fared well in their 2025 recruiting class, which is highlighted by four-stars Bryce Baker and Jaylen McGill. Baker is an in-state quarterback from East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, while McGill, who originally committed to Rutgers, is a running back from Mountain View Prep in Spartanburg, S.C. Knowing the importance of its future, particularly with Bill Belichick now coaching, UNC has a strong start to its 2026 recruiting class. In ESPN CFB national recruiting coordinator Craig Haubert's latest Class of 2026 rankings, North Carolina has the 13th-ranked class. This is no change from the Tar Heels' previous ranking. "Unsurprisingly given his ethos, Bill Belichick is building North Carolina's 2026 class from the inside out," Haubert said. "In-state, four-star defensive tackle Trashawn Ruffin flipped from Texas A&M – and the 300-pounder has plenty of raw physicality to mold. Ruffin is one of several interior linemen in the class right now – and Belichick went to his former home base in Massachusetts, to bring in 335-pound guard Lenneil Hall. The Tar Heels also pulled a pair of three-star corners out of California, Justin Lewis and Marcellous Ryan. High three-star athlete O'Mari Johnson bolsters that unit, and he also projects to the secondary." Advertisement "Now North Carolina is beginning to layer in skill players such as three-star receiver Darrion Kirksey, who picked the Tar Heels over offers from Ole Miss and Arkansas – and has outstanding short-area quickness," Haubert continued. "Davis can be a versatile back with the power to run between the tackles, but he also possesses good ball skills. As a junior, he rushed for more than 1,300 yards and also hauled in more than 50 receptions. UNC's top-ranked recruit in its 2026 class is Ruffin, who lands at 269th in ESPN's Top 300. With strong senior seasons, there could be more Tar Heel commits joining this exclusive list. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC football's 2026 recruiting class ranked 13th nationally, says ESPN
