Gio Lopez, Jordan Shipp on Bill Belichick as Head Coach

If any high school football player interested in playing at the next level takes a closer look at the UNC football program and Head Coach Bill Belichick, they may find it to be somewhere growth is bound to occur.

To learn from an eight-time Super Bowl champion sounds like a privilege to have at the NFL level (because how else would you have a Super Bowl ring?), but those same prospects from ninth to twelfth grade can do it at North Carolina.

Sep 28, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; South Alabama Jaguars quarterback Gio Lopez (7) throws against the LSU Tigers during the second quarter at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Take quarterback Gio Lopez and wide receiver Jordan Shipp, two players who attended this year's ACC Kickoff, representing UNC alongside Coach Belichick as well as Will Hardy and Thaddeus Dixon. Both shared their experiences having the 73-year-old as someone to guide them on the right path, to grow as a football player.

Monday night the Heels kick off a new era of @UNCFootball 🐏

Gio Lopez and Jordan Shipp reflect on what it’s like to play for the legendary Bill Belichick. pic.twitter.com/N8oqlo58cW
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) August 30, 2025

Shipp, a Charlotte, North Carolina native, used a very Gen Z-esque word to describe his new head coach, expressing his notice for the amount of Super Bowl rings he possesses.

"It's just crazy, the aura that coach comes with," said Shipp. "All the Super Bowl rings, coaching arguably the greatest player of all-time in Tom Brady, and all of the other great players he's had... now we have the opportunity to learn from him. It was surreal."

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a preseason press conference on Aug. 6, 2025, inside the Kenan Football Center. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

From Lopez's perspective, from someone who was not yet a Tar Heel during the moment Coach Belichick was hired, he believed it to be a chance worth taking when the second portal window opened up.

"When you first see it, you're watching him growing up, I was like, 'Man, this guy is in college football, it's kind of crazy... that was crazy to me," said Lopez. "But then, like, the second portal window opened and was blessed to have an opportunity to come play for him, and it's one of those situations where you tell your dad, 'Hey, man, like... It's Bill Belichick,' I do not think I'm turning this down. This is an opportunity I need to take on, and take it, you know, when I did."

UNC North Carolina — Quarterback Gio Lopez handing the ball off to Demon June at the Koman Practice Complex in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Aug. 2, 2025 | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels on SI

As an example, Shipp talked about how Coach Belichick uses Super Bowl footage to break down a play that Tom Brady and the New England Patriots ran multiple times in a row while facing the Atlanta Falcons amidst a huge scoreboard deficit.

"We were watching film on one of the plays that we have, it's in the Super Bowl game where they were down to the Falcons, and the they it four times in a row, and scored," Shipp expressed. And it was just like, 'I'm going to be able to do that.'"

In addition, the sophomore ended with how his head coach is willing to do anything for the team's success.

"Coach is going to put us in a great spot to win, no matter what," Shipp added.

UNC, Jordan Shipp — North Carolina wide receiver Jordan Shipp | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

On a similar sentiment, Lopez, the starting signal caller against the Horned Frogs, made note about how learning will be a continuous perk with the 73-year-old.

"It's a forever cycle that you're just learning from coach," Lopez shared about the Super Bowl champion. "You just walk in with an open mind and a pen and paper."

North Carolina Football Continues to Grow Under Bill Belichick

It is only the beginning for UNC's football program, as it remains to do a lot more learning on the gridiron and off it, especially when it takes its first loss (maybe against TCU). How will Coach Belichick respond? How will the players respond following a loss? Just a few things that come to mind when discussing the realities of the sport — even the best teams have room to learn.

North Carolina Gio Lopez — Quarterback Gio Lopez (7) participating in ball cecutiry drills | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels on SI

Lopez, Shipp and the rest of the roster (featuring 70 new players in total) will get to create more memories of Coach Belichick (who knows how long he will continue to coach?) as the seasons progress. Can he take the program to the ACC Championship? The College Football Playoffs? Everyone has their own varying opinion, but anything is possible.

Nonetheless, the Tar Heels get to dig deeper into the learning curve on Monday Night Football.

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