Tar Heels Take Note Of Bill Belichick's Special Teams Prowess

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — D’Antre Robinson took note as North Carolina spent significant time during one of last week’s practices on field goal blocking.

UNC was two games into the season and fine-tuning its offensive and defensive execution going into the Richmond game, but corrections in special teams play served as a focal point for everyone involved in that element of the game, from those who kick to those who take part in kickoff coverage.

“He coaches every single part of the game, like on the field goal block,” defensive lineman D’Antre Robinson said last week. “That’s one thing he’s very big on that I haven’t really looked that much into when I was younger.”

Bill Belichick built a reputation in the NFL for his special teams knowledge, utilizing that part of his game to his advantage. He made the rounds in 2021 while with the New England Patriots for spending extensive time — nearly 10 minutes — discussing the evolution of the long snapper position. Now that he’s coaching the Tar Heels, he’s educating college athletes on the nuances and importance of special teams. As he’s done so, the players are taking note of his unique interest there.

“It’s really cool how much he cares about it and how much he actually knows about it,” veteran long snapper Spencer Triplett said. “We had a conversation before one practice that felt like 10 minutes, just talking about stuff I could do, stuff I could add to my game, stuff that could help the whole scheme out.”

Belichick hired Mike Priefer as his special teams coordinator. Priefer held special teams roles in the NFL for five teams across 20 seasons.

Belichick’s hands-on approach to special teams, and his attention to detail on that side of the ball, stood out to Triplett. Triplett has played as a long snapper since middle school and has been with North Carolina since the 2020 season. Compared to coaches he’s worked with in the past, he’s noticed a different level of emphasis when it comes to special teams as a whole.

“It’s really cool when you have a coach who knows that much, because you’ll talk to other head coaches, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, good snap, we’ll move on,’” Triplett said. “Bill will be like, ‘Yeah, that was a good snap, blocking was good. Did you see this? What else did you see? If you see this, talk to your teammates, help them figure it out.’ It’s just awesome, because having a coach like him, and especially like Coach Priefer, guys that have so much experience working with the best to ever do it in the NFL, it kind of encourages you to work harder and try and be the best and perfect your craft.”

Tom Maginness, another special teams returner, recalled having a conversation with Belichick about his punting style. Maginness trained as a punter in Australia, developing his rugby-style punt that he’s used since arriving at UNC in 2023.

So far, Maginness is averaging 40.8 yards per punt on 14 punts. Maginness said he prefers the rollout style of punt and that Belichick feels he’s the most effective using his rugby style. He added that Belichick has gone over everything with the team, from the punts themselves to the punt coverage, and has made the complex elements of the game simple.

“He knows the shape of a good punt, the shape of a shank,” Maginness said. “He knows where to put returners. Now, if we bring a rush, if he thinks it’s a right-foot returner… he’s going to put a guy on the left. If he’s going to hit a good turnover, the ball is going to go to the right. It’s just like stuff like that. It’s just crazy. He’s got so much to worry about in other phases, but he just thinks of everything. It’s really cool.”

The team added Rece Verhoff out of the transfer portal to be its kicker. So far, Verhoff has made all four of his field goals, with a long of 49 yards, and all nine of his extra points. He’s also the team’s kickoff specialist. 

Verhoff echoed the sentiments of his special teams teammates, commending Belichick and the staff for their overall special teams knowledge and teaching.

“​​It means a lot, because (you know) that your head coach is thinking about special teams all the time, and that’s like a part of the game that some people don’t always look into,” Verhoff said. “But it’s awesome, because Belichick will talk to me at times, and it would be things I didn’t even think of as special teams on the field. And it’s great, because the knowledge he gives me is amazing.”