Who Will Start at QB for North Carolina?

When Andy Staples of On3 released his rankings of the top 10 quarterbacks of the Atlantic Coast Conference, it was really no surprise Cade Klubnik of Clemson was ranked as his top signal-caller in the league. Klubnik is also the presumptive favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, which goes to the best player in college football.

No surprise.

One item to note is Staples predicts five schools will start transfer quarterbacks. Those schools are Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami and North Carolina.

North Carolina? That must mean that Gio Lopez is going to win the job in fall camp. Lopez transferred to the Tar Heels program in the spring when Bill Belichick took over as head coach. Lopez was hand-picked by the 73-year old NFL coaching legend.

Lopez is ranked by Staples as the seventh best quarterback in the conference. There are 17 teams in the ACC.

"Bill Belichick’s biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason is an exciting lefty who also drew attention from SEC schools when he decided this spring to leave South Alabama," Staples said. "But those schools intended to develop Lopez as a potential 2026 starter, and North Carolina wanted him to take over right away."

Lopez is no rookie, but he is new to big-time college football. Playing in the ACC is going to be a lot different than playing in the Sun Belt Conference. Lopez excelled at South Alabama last season as he completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also used his legs to carry him an additional 463 yards and seven more touchdowns.

The 6-foot-2, 220 pound quarterback impressed NFL Draft guru Todd McShay at the Manning Passing Academy. Lopez could be the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Lopez transferred from South Alabama to become Bill Belichick’s first college QB," McShay wrote on his website. "He’s short but has BIG arm talent and killed it in the QB competition over the weekend. The deep ball specifically is beautiful, and it’s clear he has a lot of confidence in his arm. "

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