New UNC Football coach Bill Belichick – it will never not be weird referring to him in that way – has named a starting QB for the Tar Heels’ 2025 season opener.
Belichick is going with transfer Gio Lopez, a 6’0” sophomore who completed 66.0 percent of his pass attempts for 2,559 yards and 18 TDs for South Alabama a year ago.
“Grunt grunt grunt mumble mumble,” or something to that effect, was how Belichick broke the news.
Sorry, had to do that.
Actually:
“I feel comfortable with him and what he’s doing. He’ll get better as we go forward just because we will. I think he’s ready, but I think he’ll be like everybody, more ready as we go forward,” Belichick said.
Transcribing him: tough.
North Carolina opens its 2025 season on Monday against TCU.
Lopez beat out last year’s Week 1 starter, Max Johnson, a sixth-year player who started at LSU and Texas A&M before transferring to UNC to play for Mack Brown ahead of the 2024 season.
Johnson, who had 27 TD passes at LSU as a sophomore way back in 2021, broke his leg in Carolina’s season opener with Minnesota last year, and missed the rest of the 2024 season, as the Tar Heels stumbled to a 6-7 finish that got Brown axed before it was over and done with.
Four-star true freshman Bryce Baker was also in the mix for the QB1 spot.
Belichick said Wednesday he expects all three QBs to be ready to play going forward.
“Grunt grunt grunt mumble mumble,” the coach stressed.
Share
Chris Graham
