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Bill Belichick shocked the world by becoming the head coach of the North Carolina football team this past offseason, sending a shockwave throughout the football universe. Belichick is seen as one of the best football coaches in the game's history. The Tar Heels are a big mystery this season, but the offense is the biggest key, with Gio Lopez coming in from South Alabama and out of the transfer portal.
North Carolina football has a football junkie on its hands with Bill Belichick, who lives and breathes the game. A film session with Belichick is legendary in football circles. Gio Lopez got a dose of that as ESPN college football reporter David Hale explained in a story about what it is like to be coached by Belichick. In the first film study, Lopez explained how much he learned from Belichick, with the degrees of success that can vary on every play.
Lopez watched a film of the New England Patriots offense with Tom Brady throwing a pass to Julian Edelman.
“I just thought it was a good play,” Lopez said.
That's the mistake, Belichick explained. No play is pass-fail. There are degrees of success; on this one, Brady had fallen well short of the mark.
“If he'd put the ball another 2 feet to the outside,” Belichick explained, “Edelman gains 15 more yards on the play. That changes the entire course of this drive.”
That made it click for Lopez. Each play and drive after that caused dominoes to fall across the offense and defense. One play could completely shift the strategy, and it made him realize why he ended up with the Tar Heels.
“This guy knows it all,” Lopez said. “It's one of those situations where you sit back, zip your lips, and open your ears.”
Gio Lopez emerged as a playmaker for the South Alabama Jaguars last season. He had 2,559 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 66% completion percentage. He's a raw quarterback still developing, and you put him in a position to succeed when he learns from someone like Belichick.
The potential of North Carolina football this season hinges on what this offense looks like with Lopez under center. We know that Belichick is a defensive mastermind, but if he can help unleash Lopez on this offense, all the new transfers will mesh much better than expected.
