UNC Steals Spotlight: 3 Takeaways from ACC Media Days

The ACC Kickoff concluded today in Charlotte and North Carolina shared the stage with Boston College, Clemson, Duke, NC State and Virginia Tech.

Even though Clemson enters the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC and contend for a national title, it was North Carolina that stole the show — thanks in large part to new head coach Bill Belichick. The Tar Heels may be projected as a middle-of-the-pack team in the conference, but that won’t stop the spotlight from shining on them.

Here are my three takeaways from UNC’s day at the ACC Kickoff.

The Belichick Takeover

We all knew that Belichick was going to be the center of attention, but it’s different seeing it play out than saying it.

The tweet below explains everything:

The “Belichick Effect” is in full effect and it’s understandable. His six Super Bowl rings he has in his possession is living proof. However, he is one of the greatest defensive playcallers in the history of football.

While expectations may be in the middle, it’s clear that the Belichick era has begun if it hadn’t before.

Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in football history, let alone the NFL.

Players are staying informed on NIL

With all the chaos surrounding college sports — from revenue sharing to the President of the United States now getting involved — it’s becoming harder for anyone to keep up. At this point, you have to wonder: Who started the fire?

The good news is that the players have all been paying attention, especially Hardy, one of the many senior leaders on UNC’s squad this season.

"It's important when things change, (and) you don't even know," Hardy said on Thursday in Charlotte at the ACC Kickoff event. "You can be, I guess, breaking a rule and not even know it. And so we've been informed on all the new compliance things and issues and the way we have to report things now. And so it's been very clear communication, which I think is really important in this day and age, with everything changing every other week."

That awareness and leadership from veterans like Hardy could prove invaluable as college football continues to evolve. In a time of constant change in college athletics, staying informed might be just as important as what happens on the field.

Dabo and Belichick both Have High praise of each other

Dabo Swinney has ruled the ACC for most of his time as the head coach at Clemson, winning nine ACC Championships in 17 seasons. However, he isn’t afraid to share the spotlight with Belichick.

“It’s been great,” Swinney said. “How often would a coach get a chance to be with a coach like Bill Belichick? Most of the time, you’d have to be in the NFL. And then all of the sudden, he’s in your ACC coaches meetings? It’s provided me an opportunity to get to know him differently. Hours of meetings in May, and then casual chitchat opportunities like this, where you get a chance to see him, and now certainly get a chance to play him. I mean, it’s been really cool.”

Belichick returned the favor, praising the two-time national championship coach.

“We’re all learning from Dabo,” Belichick said. “That’s very nice of him to say that. Very complementary. Dabo’s been a friend for a long time. We’ve scouted his players from the NFL down. Some of the players that are here today, you know, I actually thought, ‘Well, maybe we’ll be drafting one of these guys.’ Now, here we are gonna be playing against them.”

The two coaches will coach against each other on Oct. 4 in Chapel Hill for the first conference game between.