North Carolina's Jordan Shipp Understands Magnitude of Next Season

• "Graduating from the University of North Carolina is a huge accomplishment. There aren't too many people who can say they've done that." Shipp said. "You look at football; it didn't really make sense for me to leave. This is where I want to be, I love Carolina."

Last season, Belichick's arrival stole headlines, but the 73-year-old head coach was entering a situation without prior experience in establishing a culture with collegiate athletes. Shipp explained how there is more continuity heading into this season.

• "Having that camaraderie already built, that friendship, trust, and leadership that was here last year, that's [going to] help us and has already put us light-years ahead of where we were last year," Shipp explained.

Shipp is a veteran player who has been around the program for multiple years, which is not common in today's college landscape with NIL. Nonetheless, Shipp understands his role as a leader on this year's roster.

• "My biggest thing is making sure I'm an outlet that guys know they can come to," Shipp said. "Just letting them know that this is [going to] be a lot of their first college practices, letting them know not to be nervous and just go play football. You're [going to] make mistakes, you're a freshman, but this is the time to make those mistakes."

Veteran Presene Is Key

Ever since joining the program, the 6-foot-2, 189-pound receiver's talent has been apparent, but it took Shipp a while to establish himself in the offense. Last season, Shipp emerged as a true go-to option, recording 60 receptions for 671 yards and six touchdowns with subpar quarterback play. Shipp expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to become a face of the program.

• "Being able to be pushed more towards the front of the program, it's a blessing, that's how I look at it," Shipp said. "My high school coach did a great job of preparing me for that, telling us to go be ourselves, be true, be happy, go smile and go be who you are. That's how I try and carry myself every day."