Latest news with #NorthCarolinaFootball
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bill Belichick gives Max Johnson update after severe leg injury
The post Bill Belichick gives Max Johnson update after severe leg injury appeared first on ClutchPoints. North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick has one significant injury on his hands. Which came before the eight-time Super Bowl winning coach arrived at Chapel Hill. Belichick now provided an update on where things stand with Max Johnson. Advertisement The 2024 quarterback sustained a severe leg injury in 2024. Belichick revealed via Dan Morrison of On3 where the quarterback's health currently stands. 'Max is doing very well,' Belichick began. 'His rehab has been long and I have a lot of admiration for him.' Belichick acknowledged that the quarterback endured a rough road to recovery. But has hit his recovery hard. 'It's a tough injury, but nobody's worked harder than he has, and he certainly is able to do a lot more than he was last spring,' Belichick said. 'So, we'll see exactly where he is when things start, but it's a whole lot closer, and we certainly expect to see him out there. So, it's been very encouraging.' Advertisement Max Johnson in new-look North Carolina QB room with Bill Belichick Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Johnson will be a seasoned veteran on the college football side. He's earning a sixth season of eligibility. Belichick once needed to game plan against Johnson's father before. The UNC QB's dad is Brad Johnson, who won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Johnson and the Bucs won one year after Belichick's first Vince Lombardi Trophy victory with the New England Patriots. North Carolina is the younger Johnson's third collegiate stops. He previously played for LSU and Texas A&M. Johnson enters 2025 with 5,853 passing yards and 47 touchdowns. He's completed 60.5% of his throws. He only started against Minnesota, however, before his devastating leg ailment. Advertisement Johnson now enters a vastly different UNC QB room through Belichick. Gio Lopez is on board for the Tar Heels as a college football transfer portal addition. Lopez arrives via South Alabama. Belichick and North Carolina landed one more high-profile QB in March. Travis Burgess chose UNC over Auburn and UNC rival North Carolina State — giving the 'Heels a 6-foot-5 quarterback. Related: Former NFL safety puts Kirby Smart on blast for record vs. Alabama Related: Texas strikes out on 4-star EDGE amid Georgia, Alabama pursuit
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
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
North Carolina, Bill Belichick land 6'4 talent from Penn State, UCLA
The post North Carolina, Bill Belichick land 6'4 talent from Penn State, UCLA appeared first on ClutchPoints. North Carolina football and head coach Bill Belichick bolstered the edge rush room for 2026 Saturday. UNC landed a towering 6-foot-4 talent courted by several power conference schools on the college football recruiting trail. Including Penn State and UCLA. Advertisement The Tar Heels and the incoming head coach grabbed Ashton Blatt for their growing '26 class. Blatt himself took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal his collegiate decision. Belichick scores a big coup on the recruiting trail in the process. Blatt earned All-State honors in Pennsylvania for Central Catholic High. The three-star ranked No. 13 overall among PA prospects by 247Sports. Blatt, again, received offers from numerous Power Four teams including a few Atlantic Coast Conference rivals for UNC. Duke and Syracuse were two rivals attempting to court Blatt with its offers. In-state power Penn State represented one of his biggest opportunities. UCLA also gets turned down despite increasing its own momentum on the June recruiting trail. What North Carolina, Bill Belichick are getting out of new recruit Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Blatt doubles as a stand-up rusher or one who places his hand in the turf. He's disruptive regardless of what stance he fires off from. Advertisement The Central Catholic star started his month in State College. Blatt took an official visit to Penn State and interact with the College Football Playoff team of last season. That visit took place on June 4. He even locked in a visit with another ACC rival of UNC in Virginia Tech — with the trip to Blacksburg coming in the end of May. But now he adds to a growing '26 class in Chapel Hill. Plus is helping Belichick generate new momentum after some questionable recruiting results. Belichick and North Carolina are witnessing a new surge for the summer. Twin four-star talents Zavion and Jayden Griffin-Hayes verbally committed on June 5. North Carolina additionally grabbed 6-foot-5 quarterback Travis Burgess before Memorial Day weekend. Who turned down rival NC State and Southeastern Conference representative Auburn for UNC. Related: Michigan football extends offer to DL coach's son Related: Priority 5-star high on Michigan football after visit
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bill Belichick reveals why Jordon Hudson was copied in on all UNC emails
Bill Belichick has revealed that Jordon Hudson was involved with the North Carolina football team, helping with the sports information side of the team. Those sports-information directors typically handle press relations with the head coach and football players such as coordinating interviews and helping give context to any accomplishment from a player. Belichick previously stated this week that Hudson was not involved with the Tar Heels, despite being the 49-years-younger girlfriend of the head coach. Now, his comments on the 'Pivot Podcast' shine a different light on Hudson, 24, being involved in Chapel Hill. 'It would be personal opportunities. It could be a speaking thing, it could be an appearance on this, or talk about this, or somebody wants whatever it happens to be an autograph, or that type of thing,' Belichick said. 'And so, she'd kind of help organize that for me.' 'One of the first things that came out when North Carolina sent me emails saying, "These people want to talk to you" I sent back an email, "Can you please copy Jordon on these requests?" so she could at least filter through them because there was nobody.' 'We didn't have a sports information guy. Because all emails are shared publicly, that was taken as Jordon's running the sports information department. And that also led to a narrative, which is just totally - she's not doing it. I mean, there was nobody to help me sort it out, so I was asking her to do it.' Belichick's timeline works out, as the school hired Justin Wilson from Central Florida to be his primary contact point for media members in March. Belichick also spoke about why the college-football version of HBO Max docuseries 'Hard Knocks' did not take place after being announced for the Tar Heels previously. Hudson reportedly had incredulous demands for the acclaimed series to chronicle her beau and his team. Hudson reportedly demanded to be an executive producer on the North Carolina season of the series, which would be making its first foray into college football, instead of profiling NFL teams. The 24-year-old also wanted to see advanced copies of the Max show, and reportedly told existing executive producers to 'treat her with respect' or they would not get access to Belichick's 'IP', per Page Six. After being met with the shameless demands, Hard Knocks' crew U-turned on wanting to produce the series and scrapped the project. 'The "Hard Knocks" thing, just for the record, "Hard Knocks" is training camp,' Belichick added. 'And we're not training camp. That's not what we are, the drama of training camp, and who's going to get cut and all that. We're a season, and they don't want that.' Belichick is preparing his new team for the season after signing a five-year, $50million contract 'There's film issues, too. But forget about the film issues. Just say you could straighten all those out. The Hard Knocks just didn't fit for us. That's the bottom line.' Hudson's influence on Belichick has been under a spotlight since Belichick's disastrous CBS interview from a few weeks back, where Hudson interrupted a question about how the couple met and said the phrase, telling her 73-year-old partner to not answer. Belichick has spoken out on his romance with Hudson multiple times this week after a bombshell report from The Washington Post was released on Tuesday on the 24-year-old. Football insiders working within the North Carolina football program have slammed Belichick 's 'odd' relationship with Hudson and her influence over the head coach. One Tar Heel employee even suggested Belichick's girlfriend could cost the 73-year-old his new coaching job. Hudson and Belichick were in the limelight as well last weekend as she took part in the Miss Maine pageant, eventually finishing third - one place lower than her 2024 effort. Belichick was spotted front row at the event, supporting his girlfriend alongside her father. Despite Hudson's failure to win the crown and a place in Miss USA, it is understood the pair don't believe their fame had a detrimental effect on the results.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
UNC official slams 'odd' Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson in shock sign his girlfriend may cost him coaching job
Those inside the North Carolina football program are also skeptical of Jordon Hudson's influence on legendary new head coach Bill Belichick, slamming their 'odd' relationship in a bombshell report. One Tar Heel employee has given the shock sign that Belichick's 49-years-younger girlfriend could cost him his coaching job. Belichick, 73, was hired by North Carolina for his first gridiron job outside of the NFL last December, after eight Super Bowl wins as a head coach and coordinator. The UNC official's comments came with granted anonymity from The Washington Post because they are not allowed to discuss Belichick's relationship with Hudson publicly. The comments on Hudson come has she and Belichick have been under siege for more than two weeks for her role in their relationship, ever since she interrupted a CBS interview with the eight-time Super Bowl winner. Now, the deeper extent of her influence has been brought into the limelight as the pair are in their fourth year of dating. Belichick was hired by North Carolina for his first gridiron job outside of the NFL last December 'It's just so odd,' the UNC official told the outlet. 'And we just don't know what's coming. Those two decide what they're going to do and they do it.' 'She is very, very involved in the crafting of Bill's projected image, everything you see on Instagram, all of that. I know it's hard to separate out this image of Bill Belichick and Bill Belichick the North Carolina football coach.' 'Maybe it sounds silly for me to try to separate the two things. But really the football side of Bill and now the public side of Bill have become two different things, and she is in charge of the public side.' Hudson and Belichick were in the limelight over the weekend as she took part in the Miss Maine pageant, eventually finishing third - one place lower than her 2024 effort. Belichick was spotted front row at the event on Saturday and Sunday, supporting his girlfriend alongside her father. The pair snuck out the back exit of the hotel where the event was being held, flanked by Belichick's security, before the UNC coach drove them home. Despite Hudson's failure to win the crown and a place in Miss USA, it is understood the pair don't believe their fame had a detrimental effect on the results. 'Jordon and Bill don't have any belief that who they are affected her chances at the Miss Maine pageant in a positive or negative way,' the source added. 'She would have loved to have won and though she didn't, she genuinely feels that the voting was on the up and up. You are not going to see her complain with the results and you are not going to hear him complaining about it either.' Belichick will be back on TV screens later this week when he sits down with Michael Strahan for an exclusive interview on Good Morning America. On Friday, the ongoing Hudson drama took another twist, as former ESPN reporter Pablo Torre claimed Friday morning on his podcast that Hudson was told she was no longer welcome at the school's football facilities. He reported that high-ranking officials in UNC's athletic department came to a decision last week that Hudson would not be allowed at the football field or inside the facility. The sports journalist also stated from a source that, 'there is deep worry for how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill's legacy, reputation - everything he has built and worked for over decades.' Torre also made the bold claim that the Belichick family 'has been digging into' Hudson, with her antics over the last few weeks raising tons of red flags. However, a statement from Carolina Athletics to Daily Mail has strongly denied the story of Hudson being banned. It read: 'While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities.
