Bill Belichick is just a few weeks away from making his coaching debut with the North Carolina football team, and that is something that the entire college football world will be watching. Camp is underway for the Tar Heels as they get ready to begin the 2025 season, and there are a lot of questions marks surrounding the team ahead of Belichick's first year. One big question revolves around the defensive line and who will we see earn starting roles.
There are a lot of starting jobs up for grabs along the North Carolina football defensive line, and that is something that Bill Belichick will be monitoring throughout camp. It's still early in camp, and there is still a lot of competition left.
“Whether it’s that position or any of the positions, the depth charts are really a work in progress,” Belichick said, according to an article from On3. “Again, we’re in the acclimation period. Of course, we’re trying to evaluate, but we’re not really able to do that until full practices and tackling. … For the big guys, you know, those skills will really be evaluated much more closely once we’re actually able to do them (hitting) and also make sure that everybody knows what they’re doing.”
One newcomer to watch on the D-line is D'Antre Robinson, who transferred in from Florida. Robinson didn't get a ton of playing time with the Gators, but it sounds like he has a good chance of earning a meaningful role this season.
“I’d say everybody has an opportunity, but he certainly would be up on that list,” Belichick said. “Played some last year at Florida. (He’s an) athlete, has good football instincts. And again, it’s just acclimating to a new system, some new terminology and adjustments, things like that. I’m sure he’ll be very competitive with that group.”
Belichick didn't have much of an update on position battles, but they will come. Right now, it's hard to truly evaluate the lines without the players hitting each other, but once that starts to go down, Belichick and the staff will get a better idea of who their starters are going to be.
“Yeah, the O-line and D-line. Because that’s their game. It’s contact, it’s leverage, it’s footwork and position,” he said. “These guys line up this far away from each other, and it all happens pretty quickly. And without pads and without full contact, it’s kind of hard to see exactly how that’s going to go until you get to that point again.”
The North Carolina football season is almost here, and the Tar Heels start things off with a big one. TCU will be coming to town for a clash under the lights on September 1st. Bill Belichick's squad will be immediately put to the test.
