ACC Availability Report: UNC Lists Gio Lopez Questionable, Pryce Yates Probable

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez is listed as questionable for this weekend’s ACC football matchup against Clemson, as per the league’s new policy that mandates availability reports prior to conference games.

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Lopez was joined by offensive lineman Aidan Banfield (questionable) and defensive end Pryce Yates (probable) with notable status designations on Thursday night’s initial availability report for the Tar Heels (2-2), who open league play on Saturday against the visiting Tigers (1-3 overall, 0-2 ACC) at Kenan Stadium.

The transfer Lopez has been on the mend, recovering from the right-leg injury that knocked him out of UNC’s last game, the loss 12 days ago at Central Florida. Lopez has started all of the Tar Heels’ games this season, though backup quarterback Max Johnson has been called on in relief twice, when Lopez exited in the second halves of lopsided losses to TCU and UCF due to injuries.

Here’s a quick rundown of UNC’s portion from Thursday night’s first availability report for the Clemson game. The ACC requires coach Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels, along with coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers, to submit two more availability reports — another on Friday night and then a final version on Saturday morning, two hours before the game’s noon kickoff time.

OUT FOR UNC
LB Chinedu Onyeagoro
LB Tyler Houser
FB Henry Martello
LB Jake Bauer
TE Shamar Easter
DL Laderion Williams
TE Deems May
DL Devin Ancrum

QUESTIONABLE FOR UNC
QB Gio Lopez
OL Aidan Banfield

PROBABLE FOR UNC
WR Chris Culliver
RB Caleb Hood
DB Gavin Gibson
DL Pryce Yates
DB Ty Adams
LB Evan Bennett
TE Connor Cox
DL Isaiah Johnson
K Guytano Bartolomeo

UNC and Clemson both are coming off open dates on their schedules, and thus have had bye weeks allowing extra time to prepare. The Tigers, after back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, have been installed as 14½-point favorites over the Tar Heels by the oddsmakers.

Yates, the Connecticut transfer, hasn’t yet made his UNC debut. He has been working back from a concussion suffered during the preseason, per multiple sources, the recurrence of an issue that also shelved him at the start of last season. He missed UConn’s first six games of 2024 due to the effects of a concussion suffered in training camp, and didn’t make his season debut with the Huskies until Oct. 19. Yates joined UNC through the transfer portal after suppling 12½ sacks and 29½ tackles for losses in 32 games across the last three seasons at UConn.

Banfield is the starter at left guard on the Tar Heels’ offensive line, a group which has been without the services of Christo Kelly at center across the last three games. Due to a foot injury from preseason training camp, Kelly, the Holy Cross transfer, hasn’t played for UNC since logging 19 snaps in the Sept. 1 season-opening loss against TCU.

But Kelly didn’t show up with an injury status designation on Thursday night’s initial availability report. Likewise, offensive lineman William Boone didn’t either for UNC. Three weeks ago, Boone departed the Tar Heels’ rout of Richmond due to injury, and Austin Blaske took on the starting duties at left tackle during the loss at UCF. That game marked Blaske’s 2025 season debut, after a broken foot and an ensuing surgery sidelined him for UNC’s first three games.

For ACC league games this football season, availability reports are required to be submitted two nights before a game, the night before a game, and then two hours before the game’s scheduled kickoff time. For basketball and baseball games during those upcoming seasons, the ACC is requiring availability reports to be turned in the night before a game, and then two hours before the game’s scheduled tip-off time.

Availability reports submitted prior to game days are supposed to designate players with these statuses: available, probable, questionable or out. Then on game days, players are to be listed as available, game-time decision or out, per the language from the ACC conference office.