Belichick Era Finds Another Tar Heel Exiting the Program

Paul Billups, Aziah Johnson, Treyvon Green, and Caleb Hood: all former Tar Heels who have departed from UNC's football program under head coach Bill Belichick. And now there is one more to add on to the list — tight end Yasir Smith, a freshman from Summerville, South Carolina.

According to Inside Carolina's Don Callahan, Smith has left the team. Another piece to the story unfolds for Belichick and the rest of the staff — one that has uncovered a lot about what goes on behind the scenes — from Gio Lopez's car crash, cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins getting suspended, a divided locker room and say goodbye to the HULU documentary, too.

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick speaking to the press before the Tar Heels' first practice of fall camp on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025 | Jackson McCurdy, Nirth Carolina Tar Heels on SI

Losing players at UNC is not a good look, especially for those recruits who are receiving interest from the program — this does more harm than good, if anything. On the field, North Carolina is 2-4, with wins over the Charlotte 49ers (on the road) and the Richmond Spiders (at home).

Its four losses came against TCU (at home), UCF (on the road), Clemson (at home) and California (on the road). The Tar Heels struggle against Power 4 competition; however, they kept up with the Bears the last time out on the field — losing by a small margin, 21-18, and were close to taking the lead late in the fourth quarter — a goal-line fumble disrupted everything.

UNC — Bill Belichick | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

Six Games Left in Year One of Bill Belichick

Time flies — just like that, there are only six games left in the season for UNC. After Virginia, North Carolina will play the following teams: Syracuse (road), Stanford (home), Wake Forest (road), Duke (home), and NC State (road). The possibility of North Carolina becoming bowl eligible is still there, but the chances of that happening are?

Slim... to perhaps none. Belichick and his staff have yet to figure out how to win games, regardless of the two bye weeks thus far. And while it has made somewhat of an improvement during its time on the West Coast last week, the result remained the same. Virginia, ranked No. 16 in the country, will be a tall task.

Sep 20, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez (7) warms up before the game against the UCF Knights at the Bounce House Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

UNC will have its home crowd behind it, but if there are no signs of being competitive, then that crowd will vanish like thin air... again (recall the TCU and Clemson games). This season has been far from pretty, and players stepping away from the roster does not help either.

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