Tar Heels Offensive Line Should Be Among ACC's Finest

The North Carolina offensive line could be among the conference's finest. They only return five players from last year's unit, but they welcome 11 new bodies and a brand new line coach.

Head coach Bill Belichick brought in Will Friend from Western Kentucky to coach the unit. He has had stops at various programs such as Georgia, Colorado State, Tennessee and Mississippi State. Friend is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he was a two-time All-SEC selection. He was teammates with current Tar Heels offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens.

"He's a very intense coach," senior Christo Kelly said to 247Sports. "He's breeding toughness. But the attention to detail that he brings, it's truly remarkable. He's teaching the game in a way that's allowing us to conceptually understand everything that's going on. And on top of that, just the emphasis on the toughness, the effort that you need to bring day in and day out. Really setting the standard. Kind of understanding the team goes as we go. So we have to be the ones that set the pace."

Of the Tar Heels five returning lineman, three were starters last season. Aidan Banfield, Trevyon Green and Austin Blaske all have tremendous experience up front. The Tar Heels almost lost Banfield and Blaske as they submitted their names to transfer out after former head coach Mack Brown retired for the second time.

When Belichick was named head coach on Dec. 12, the players changed their minds and decided to stay and play for the 73-year old guru.

This is Blaske's sixth year of college football. He started at center every week except for the Week 3 game with North Carolina Central. He sat out that week with a lower body injury. He played 737 offensive snaps for North Carolina. According to 247Sports, Pro Football Focus gave Blaske a pass-block grade of 85.6 - the second best on the team after the departed Willie Lampkin. He had a run-block grade of 60.7.

Banfield started at left guard for the Tar Heels as a true freshman. He played 606 snaps in 10 games. According to 247Sports Banfield's snap count was the second highest in the ACC among true freshman offensive linemen. He only trailed Stanford's Kahlil House.

He was nominated for ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year by Tar Heels athletics.

Green is the quintessential right tackle and he played 819 snaps last season. He started all 13 games and has been in Chapel Hill since 2022.

The three blocked last season for first-round draft pick Omarion Hampton, who rushed for an ACC-best 1,660 yards. Hampton totaled the second-most yards in the country last season running behind these three gentlemen.

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