CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — With North Carolina’s season opener against TCU less than a month away, Bill Belichick doesn’t yet know who will be under center for the Tar Heels.
It could very well be Gio Lopez, a sophomore transfer from South Alabama, but returning senior Max Johnson and freshman Bryce Baker are in the mix too. Ahead of the first day of fall camp at the Kenan Football Center Hall of Honor, Belichick said his starter will be determined on the practice field this August.
“Whoever earns it is going to be who gets it. That’s the bottom line,” Belichick said. “Nobody is entitled to it. Nobody has been given anything. The player who plays the best and earns that playing time will get it. I don’t know who that’s going to be. That’ll be up to them. It certainly would be good to have that done before the first game, maybe even two weeks before the first game. The sooner the better. But it’s better to make the right decision than a quick decision. So that’s what we’ll try to do, but that’s one of the key questions we have to answer.”
Competition was a hallmark of Belichick’s time coaching the Patriots, with unheralded players like Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, David Andrews and Malcolm Butler climbing the depth chart and becoming key pieces. Speaking about the transfer portal, Belichick made that message clear to everybody on the roster: Playing time will go to whoever earns it, no matter the pedigree.
“If the player wanted to come in and compete, and we thought it was a good player, then this is the right spot for him,” Belichick said. “We’ll give everybody an opportunity to compete. Through the course of my career we’ve had many, many free agents, low-round draft choices who not only competed and earned playing time, but some became some of our best players. So players that want to come in and compete and have shown enough skill, we’ll take those guys. We’ve taken plenty of them. We’ll see how they do. But those are kind of the two things we’re looking for.
“Anybody who is walking in here feeling like ‘Well, I’m going to be the starting this or that. I’m entitled to this.’ That’s not really the way it’s going to work,” Belichick added. “They’re going to have to earn it. If they want to come in and earn playing time and earn a roster spot and play at Carolina, play in the ACC, and get that kind of profile, then we’ll give it to them and we’ll see what they can do. Whatever they get, they’re going to earn. We’re not handing out anything. Just like nobody is handing out wins in this conference. You’re going to have to earn them. We’re going to have to earn our spots on the field.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.