Former University of North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez provided a damming indictment of the Bill Belichick-led Tar Heels in a recent interview.
Lopez, who was UNC’s starter in 2025, has transferred to ACC rival Wake Forest for the upcoming season, and speaking with Sports Illustrated this week, he revealed an unflattering picture of the North Carolina football program under the former Patriots head coach.
“Back at the other school [North Carolina], it felt like there’s no air,” Lopez said. “Here, it’s fun again. They’re moving us in the right direction, energized, and guys are enjoying football. It’s like fresh air. I’d never had to respond to tough situations like that on that loud of a scale.”
Lopez, who threw for 1,747 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games, described the situation in Chapel Hill as “more like work.”
Gio Lopez of the North Carolina Tar Heels runs the ball during the game between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels on November 22, 2025 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, NC. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Tar Heels finished the 2025 season with a 4-8 record overall and an abysmal 2-6 mark in ACC play.
“After that first game, it felt like getting through the day. You don’t want to live like that, where you’re up at night thinking about the next day,” he told the outlet.
Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill was marred by off-the-field controversies related to his relationship with Jordon Hudson, who is 49 years his junior.
Lopez’s father, Barney Lopez, painted an even more depressing picture of life at UNC as part of the football program under Belichick.
Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels walks onto the field prior to the game against the NC State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Getty Images “You were ridiculed if you didn’t do it exactly the way he was told,” Barney Lopez told SI. “You could be at the dang line, see the play is about to be blown up, but if you try to call it off or audible, you were ridiculed.”
All of it ended up leading Lopez to start “losing the love for it when he was over there [at North Carolina].”
