What Gio Lopez Brings to Bill Belichick & UNC’s QB Position

After the spring, North Carolina looked shaky at quarterback due to a multitude of reasons. 

The two quarterbacks who played last season — Jacolby Criswell and Conner Harrell — both entered the transfer portal following the season. Max Johnson, who was the initial starter at the beginning of the year before his season-ending injury, was nowhere close to 100%. Freshman Bryce Barker, while talented, is not ready to take the reins.

North Carolina needed a quarterback from the portal — and not only did it get one, it landed a solid option.

Enter Gio Lopez, a transfer from South Alabama who joined the program after the spring. Lopez completed 66 percent of his passes last season, throwing for 2,559 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 games. He also rushed for 463 yards and scored seven more times on the ground.

Lopez averaged 274.7 yards of total offense per game, which ranked 22nd nationally.

After it was announced that he would be one of four North Carolina players attending ACC Kickoff in Charlotte alongside head coach Bill Belichick, it became increasingly clear that Gio Lopez is poised to be the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback in 2025.

Still, many fans and media members will be getting their first real introduction to Lopez on Thursday. There’s plenty to like about his game — he’s an efficient passer with playmaking ability — but, like any quarterback, there are also a few concerns worth noting.

Strengths

For starters, you have to talk about his dual-threat ability.

Lopez had 83 carries for 463 yards – which is 5.6 yards per carry – while scoring seven touchdowns.

Built like a running back at 6-0, 220 pounds, he is tough to bring down (4.42 yards after contact) also has great breakaway ability as 20.4% of his runs went for 10 or more yards.

The one thing that often goes unnoticed about Lopez is his highly effective deep ball.

In 2024, Lopez had a 91.0 deep passing grade according to PFF, which is his highest passing grade and also puts him as one of the most effective gunslingers. Lopez completed 41% of his passes going for 20 yards or more for 759 yards with nine touchdowns and two touchdowns. 

His completion percentage was 18th nationally last year and is 10th amongst returning starting quarterbacks this season.

Lopez is also highly effective when facing the blitz. Last season, he completed 67% of his passes for 900 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception on 100 passing attempts when facing the blitz according to PFF.

Weaknesses

While his dual-threat ability is great, he could gain some wear-and-tear due to repeated hits. That’s not necessarily a good thing, even more so for the Tar Heels as the quarterback situation is murky after Lopez. 

Lopez struggled when facing pressure, completing just 49.5% of his passes for 559 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. His PFF scores reflected that as he had an 43.0 offensive grade and a 43.6 passing grade.

Lopez also struggled to connect on his intermediate throws (10-15 yards), completing under 50% of his passes for 501 yards with just three touchdowns and two interceptions. He especially struggled in intermediate throws thrown to the left side of the field, completing just three of his 18 pass attempts for 55 yards.