Former UNC All-American Heaps Praise for Belichick

Ever since he stepped foot on campus on Dec. 14, 2024, North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick has been the talk of the town.

That’s putting it lightly. He has been a national story since that time, with some coverage not even related to football. Opinions have ranged from cautious to critical to glowing praise, but few have heard from anyone who used to be part of the Carolina football program.

Now, former All-American offensive lineman Willie Lampkin has spoken out with praise for Belichick.

Lampkin admitted he had many misconceptions stemming from Belichick’s tenure as head coach of the New England Patriots. But he said Belichick deeply cares about his players, and Lampkin quickly changed his mind.

UNC — American team offensive lineman Willie Lampkin of North Carolina (55) warms up before the 2025 Senior Bowl football game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

"Bill Belichick, he's a great guy,” Lampkin said to Brock Vierra of Los Angeles Rams On SI. “People always thought that, even myself, I thought he was kind of mean, but, man, he's has an intention and he wants to win. His purpose is to win and to help people get to the next level, especially in their football careers. He's a great coach, and I feel like they will/ he will turn it around.”

Lampkin was a part of two talented teams in 2023 and 2024 that were huge disappointments.

In 2023, North Carolina opened the season ranked in the Top 25 and started 6-0, climbing to No. 10 behind future first-round draft pick quarterback Drake Maye. However, the Tar Heels went 2-5 the rest of the season that was capped off by three straight double-digit losses to unranked Clemson, archrival NC State and a 30-10 loss to West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

In 2024, the Tar Heels’ season was derailed by quarterback Max Johnson’s season-ending injury and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball, despite the brilliance of future first-round draft pick running back Omarion Hampton. They went 6-7, ultimately led to the firing of the school’s all-time winningest coach, Mack Brown.

I feel like that's what we needed, especially those past couple years. We had some awesome players, great players, but we never were able to take that next step. And I feel like Bill Belichick seconds want to help us, or help the kids, take that next step and win the ACC championship."

Willie Lampkin Continues to Have Success in the NFL

Lampkin was an incredibly accomplished offensive lineman in college as he made the all-conference team at both North Carolina and Coastal Carolina. He was a First-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2022 while at Coastal and was a First-team All-ACC selection in 2024 at UNC.

2024 was a great season for Lampkin as he collected First-team All-American honors and was the winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which is given to the best offensive lineman in the ACC for that reason.

According to PFF, Lampkin was a tremendous blocker as he put up a 85.6 offensive grade with an 88.8 pass block and 87.6 run block grade. He also did not give up a single snap.

Lampkin played a total of 32 snaps – 28 of which were at center – in the game against the Dallas Cowboys. Not only did he perform well but he dominated, tallying four pancake blocks and recording a 94.1 offense grade according to PFF.

It was the second-highest grade among rookies in Week 1 of the preseason. He also recorded a 92.2 run block grade and a 78.6 pass block grade

"Obviously, he has great leverage, can get underneath people and be able to finish,” said Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. “That was what you loved about him at North Carolina, but just a competitor. He's tough, he's physical. I think he's done a really good job."

Be sure to follow North Carolina Tar Heels On SI onX (formerly Twitter), and don’t forget to like our page on Facebook!