UNC's Football History is Richer Than You Think It Is

It has been a mission for both Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi to get UNC to acknowledge its surprisingly rich football tradition

"We haven't won an ACC [title] since 1980; we're all aware of that,” Lombardi said back in February. “But, man, we've had a lot of good players, and they deserve to be in this hallway. They deserve to have the spotlight. So, I think, in terms of what's been the hardest part, it's trying to bring out those alumni, bring them back. It's a beautiful facility, but it's not a home for the older players." 

UNC's Underrated Tradition

It’s not just Hanburger, Peppers or Taylor.

Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, often mentioned alongside Lawrence Taylor as North Carolina’s greatest football star, finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up in consecutive years. He placed second in 1948 to SMU’s Doak Walker — the namesake of the award given annually to the nation’s top running back — and again in 1949 to Notre Dame’s Leon Hart.

The next player to finish as a Heisman runner-up twice was Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, who placed second to Ohio State’s Troy Smith in 2006 and Florida’s Tim Tebow in 2007.

You have to mention Dre Bly, a three-time All-American cornerback who is only one of five freshmen to be nominated as an AP All-American, joining the likes of Tony Dorsett, Marshall Faulk, and Herschel Walker. 

You also can’t forget about Bly’s teammate Greg Ellis, who is UNC’s all-time sack leader and played for 12 seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

Many people don't know this but former UNC All-American tailback Don McCauley, who  rushed for 1,720 yards in 1970, breaking the NCAA single-season rushing record previously held by O.J. Simpson. The mark still stands as the single-season benchmark in UNC history. McCauley was also named ACC Athlete of the Year for the 1970-71 athletic year and is one of only two players in program history with 5,000 all-purpose yards.

Plus, look at some of the Tar Heel players that have come out as of late, with Sam Howell, Drake Maye, and Omarion Hampton.

There are way too many to count, and that includes the 32 times a UNC running back ran for 1,000 yards.

To top it all off, three UNC head coaches are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Carl Snavely, Jim Tatum and Mack Brown.

Belichick Thinks Highly of 1980 ACC Title Team

One of the constant themes of the offseason is Belichick mentioning the 1980 Carolina squad, the last one to win the ACC championship. A lot of it has to do with Taylor, one of his former players, who was on that team.

As a team captain in 1980, Taylor set a school record with 16 sacks and earned consensus All-America honors. The New York Giants selected him second overall in the 1981 NFL Draft, reuniting him with Belichick, who served as his position coach and defensive coordinator.

However, Belichick likes to bring up that team because they were great all-around, as well as being the last Carolina team to win an ACC title.

The 1980 Tar Heels had two 1,000-yard rushers in Calvin Bryant and Amos Lawrence – who were both First-Team All-ACC selections – as well as another first-round pick in defensive lineman Donnell Thompson, who went 16th overall to the Baltimore Colts in the 1981 NFL Draft.

The defense, led by linebacker Calvin Daniels, Taylor and Thompson, only allowed 123 points the entire season, which is 11.2 points per game. It was tied for the eighth-lowest total in the 1980 season.

“That team had so many good players,” Belichick said when he appeared on the ACC Road Trip show earlier in August. “They gave up 120 points the whole season, 45 of those to Oklahoma. The problem with Calvin Daniels was he was No. 99 and Taylor was No. 98, and they were both 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, long and fast off the edge, usually hitting each other at the quarterback.”

“They got there about the same time and were dominant. You’d think, ‘Was that Taylor? No, that’s Daniels. Is that — no, that’s Taylor,’” Belichick continued. “They were both really, really good. Taylor was a year ahead of them, but we went back the next year.”