UNC Football: Buying and Selling Training Camp Hype

North Carolina deployed a three-headed committee in the backfield in 2025. With Davion Gause out of the picture, the path has cleared for June to take over as the clear RB1. Last season, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound running back produced 464 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 84 carries, while adding 159 receiving yards and one touchdown on 17 catches.

Earlier this week, wide receiver Jordan Shipp mentioned the sophomore running back as a breakout candidate. With an expanded role, I expect June to take a major step and potentially transform into a potent threat in the rushing attack while filling a complementary role in the passing attack.

• “On offense, I don’t want to give away too much, but I’d say Demon June," Shipp said. "He’s grown a lot more. June is [going to] be a great player. He’s [going to] help us out a lot. The biggest thing for him is his ability to work. At first, early on, being a freshman, he wasn’t pushing as hard. I had one or two talks with him and told him, ‘Just run with me. Let’s run together, let’s push each other,’ and he’s really bought into that. Now he’s pushing guys and holding the standard the same way."

Hype I'm Selling: Billy Edwards Jr.

While the hype train is not off the rails, murmurs around Chapel Hill are that the Wisconsin transfer quarterback is expected to be the Week 1 starter ahead of training camp. During that time, North Carolina will conduct an open quarterback competition, and even though Edwards Jr. is the favorite to win the job, I don't buy him as a legitimate solution.

Through four seasons - three at Maryland and one at Wisconsin - the 6-foot-3, 227-pound quarterback has compiled 3,430 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 375 rushing yards, and 13 rushing touchdowns while completing 62.1 percent of his passes. Quite frankly, I'm not impressed, and despite the lack of experience, the Tar Heels would be better off starting Travis Burgess at quarterback to open the season.