Bill Belichick reveals what he liked about Gio Lopez in transfer portal

The Bill Belichick era at North Carolina is nearly upon us. After months of talk about why he’d decide to un-retire to take the job and nonstop discussions regarding his girlfriend Jordon Hudson, the 2025 college football season is officially on the horizon.

Former South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez announced his transfer to North Carolina on April 17, seemingly setting himself up to be the first starting quarterback of the Belichick era in Chapel Hill. The six-time Super Bowl champion winning coach discussed Lopez at his summer press conference on June 10.

“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 Max [Johnson], we’ve got some experience in Gio so we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Lopez shined in his first season as South Alabama‘s starting quarterback in 2024, passing for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the Jaguars to a 7-6 record and a 30-23 win over Western Michigan in the Salute to Veterans Bowl, and passed for 173 yards and one touchdown in a 42-10 loss to LSU.

Lopez was the No. 1,332 overall recruit and No. 70 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Although he will likely open the season as the starting quarterback, he’s been competing with sixth-year arm Max Johnson this offseason. Johnson, who is at his third program, broke his leg in North Carolina‘s season opener against Minnesota last season. In five seasons (two at LSU, two at Texas A&M and UNC), Johnson has thrown for 5,923 yards, 47 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

“With the exception of Max for a handful of plays last year, none of [the team’s quarterbacks] haven’t really taken any snaps here so it’l’l be good to see how that plays out,” Belichick finished. Lopez and Johnson are two of four quarterbacks on the Tar Heel roster, joined by freshman Bryce Baker and sophomore DJ Mazzone.

North Carolina opens the 2025 season on September 1 at home against TCU. The opening game of the Bill Belichick era is slated for a 7:00 kickoff on ESPN.