Tar Heels Transfer QB Looks Forward to Playing for Belichick

New North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez wants to be the guy who breaks the huddle against TCU the opening week of the season. He is set up to do so, but will be met with fierce competition from sixth-year senior Max Johnson, who missed all of last season with a broken leg he sustained in the season opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Lopez transferred to North Carolina to play for Bill Belichick. He wants to kick off the season as the starter and not surrender the job until he graduates or leaves for the NFL.

He announced his transfer to Chapel Hill on April 17. He was the starter for South Alabama last season where he tossed 18 touchdowns and accumulated 2,559 yards through the air. He suffered only five interceptions. He led the Jaguars to a 30-23 victory over Western Michigan in the Salute to Veterans Bowl in what would be his final start at South Alabama.

Lopez recently attended the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. While on campus of Nicholls State University he opened up to RIvals.com about what playing for Belichick and North Carolina means to him. The Madison, AL native spoke very highly of playing for the 73-year old Hall of Fame coach.

“It’s a great opportunity to have someone that demands excellence,” Lopez said about Belichick. “Just being with a coach that’s seen it all and has coached it all, just that kind of situation that you don’t take for granted. Whenever he speaks, everyone listens so it’s a great opportunity to be apart of.”

Belichick is looking forward to working with Lopez, who was part of the No. 8 transfer portal class in the country. He discussed his relationship with Lopez at a press conference in June.

“He was really productive at South Alabama,” Belichick said. “He’s a dual-threat quarterback who has had plenty of productive yardage in both the running game and the passing game. He’s a tough kid who has played really well against tough competition and teams like LSU. It looks like he’s definitely ready for this level. We’re excited to work with him, as we are with everybody else. We’ve got some freshmen, we’ve got , we’ve got some experience in Gio so we’ll see how it all plays out.”

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