Kirk Herbstreit compares Gio Lopez to Tua Tagovailoa

All eyes are on Bill Belichick on Monday night as he makes his college football debut against TCU. With that comes a lot of attention and expectations for the North Carolina program. Belichick is not the lone reason why, as quarterback Gio Lopez brings a great deal of excitement as well.

On North Carolina’s opening drive, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit gave an interesting comparison for Lopez. Not so much about how he plays but regarding his demeanor on the field. Herbstreit made the Tua Tagovailoa comp, giving a few reasons why.

“He almost looks like Tua in his uniform,” Herbstreit said during the first quarter of the North Carolina-TCU broadcast. “Being a lefty, he’s got that look. Of course, the size of his body.”

Tagovailoa enjoyed a fruitful career under a head coach Belichick knows quite well, Nick Saban. The stats are quite guady, throwing for 7,442 yards, 87 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions while completing 69.3% of his throws. Of course, Tagovailoa started one of the most famous plays in college football history, connecting with DeVonta Smith to beat Georgia in overtime for a national championship.

A few years later, after all of those stats were recorded, Tagovailoa was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He is still, to this day, the franchise’s starting quarterback under head coach Mike McDaniel.

Lopez does not quite have the same resume, even after a good stint at South Alabama. Jumping into the NCAA transfer portal meant a few suitors were interested. In the end, North Carolina was deemed the winner, getting us to Monday night’s game against TCU.

Being left-handed certainly helps make the two players look alike. But Herbstreit sees similarities when comparing the body type. But no matter how the two are similar, hearing the name Tagovailoa is a positive one when it comes to Lopez.

Shortly after Herbstreit’s comments, Lopez helped cap off an opening drive touchdown. A massive throw helped get UNC in the red zone before sticking with the ground game for the score. If you are Belichick, you could not ask for a better start on the offensive end.

Hopefully, more is on the way. North Carolina would love to begin the 2025 season with a victory and only build the hype surrounding the program. Either way, Lopez is going to be a big part of the equation in Chapel Hill.