Bill Belichick’s Approach to Developing Quarterback Gio Lopez

Bill Belichick watched the quarterback battle between South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez and former LSU and Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson, who fought throughout Fall Camp after his gruesome leg injury.

The Tar Heels are now led by Lopez, and it has been three games into the 2025 season that has seen highs and also lows from their new signal caller. Lopez has shown that he can launch the football down the field, hit his receivers within the short to medium range and even run the ball when needed, too.

Belichick spoke to the media and detailed his process with handling a Lopez at the quarterback position.

"There's probably other things he needs to improve on," Belichick stated. "And so, you try to help the player with whatever it is that you feel like will help him the most or maybe that, you know, are the most important things for him. It's not the same with every player. We all learn differently. We all process differently. And coaching quarterbacks are a bunch of a one -on -one proposition. I mean, you may have multiple quarterbacks, but – and they may learn differently as well or have different strengths and weaknesses."

"So you have to adapt it," UNC's head coach added. "You know, it's very individualized. So, as I said, each guy is different."Tom was a player who wasn't going to run a lot, so that wasn't part of it. For him, it was understanding coverages, understanding the weak spots in the defense and playing situational football with other quarterbacks, you know, especially a lot of the quarterbacks in college."

"There's another element. It's not just dropping back and throwing into coverage, but there are other, you know, option plays where they can run or throw or run, run or throw, throw, depending on, you know, the type of plays and so forth. So I don't think you want to overload them. I think you want to find something that they can tangibly grab a hold of and say, ‘Okay, yeah, that makes sense. That helps me.’ But as you coach players, and my experience has been with all players, sometimes the way you see it isn't the way they see it."

"And if they don't see it that way, then you need to find some other way to teach it. You know, that just doesn't work for them. I've had plenty of great players telling me, ‘Hey, Coach, that's a great key, but I can't really see that on the field. ‘So let's find something else.’ All right, start looking for something else."

Unlocking Gio Lopez's Potential is the Key for UNC

The establishment of freshman running back Demon June has turned the tables a little bit more on the offensive end for North Carolina. But the team's potential will not be reached unless its quarterback get make more strides in his passing game, and for that matter, his decision-making as well.

UNC plays UCF on Saturday, September 20. Then, has a bye-week before prepping ot take on Head Coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in Chapel Hill. Rapper Ludacris will be in attendance to perform for Tar Heels fans, a part of the Chapel Thrill Game Day experience. Perhaps, North Carolina can continue its momentum or fall under pressure of playing opponents with a lot more talent.

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