UNC Game Week: Player Interviews Ahead of TCU Season Opener

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s countdown to kicking off the new 2025 season continued on Wednesday, with the Tar Heels moving five days away from their Sept. 1 season opener against TCU, and Bill Belichick’s coaching debut.

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Defensive back Thad Dixon, quarterback Gio Lopez and receiver Jordan Shipp met with reporters at Kenan Football Center, after Belichick wrapped up his session at the lectern.

Watch those interviews in their entirety below, and read some noteworthy excerpts from their comments. Minutes earlier, before the UNC players arrived for interviews, Belichick confirmed that the South Alabama transfer Lopez indeed will be the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback on Monday night, as expected.

Thad Dixon

“(The Rude Boyz) they’re still tuned in and they’re still passionate about the game, passionate about what’s going on in the locker room and out at practice. So it was an honor for me to be the new guy coming in (to the legacy of defensive backs here). And an honor for everybody to be so warm, welcoming and talking to me, making sure I’m getting all these dudes right.”

“Obviously it’s a lot of hype going on, but I haven’t really felt it too much. I’m not really too big on offseason hype. I’m more in-season production. So I’m really just waiting until Monday to really show what we can do.”

“It’s a pretty different (defensive) system than what we ran at Washington. But me being comfortable with Coach Steve (Belichick) as a person, he’s really growing me a lot. He’s always there for me in everything I do. So just being comfortable with him as a person and him being comfortable with me as a person allows me to play football free. So it’s really just our relationship off the field that makes on the field playing easy.”

Gio Lopez

“That’s why I came here, of course, but it kind of felt good to call my dad after getting announced (as the starter). Tell him, like, we’ve got one part going. Now it’s time to go win some games.”

“I think we have a chance to be one of the best offenses in the country. Of course, we’ve still got to day-by-day stack days and keep getting better. But I do think we have a really explosive offense, and we have opportunity to be really good.”

“Coach (Major) Applewhite back at South (Alabama), he’s probably my football mentor. He really helped me get to where I’m at today, and I’m always thankful for him. And this opportunity I have now to be at North Carolina and play for the greatest coach of all time is a great opportunity.”

Jordan Shipp

“We’re going to be physical. We’re going to play fast. We’re going to be tough, smart, dependable. And everything that Coach Belichick stresses are the main things that we’re focusing on. Whatever Coach Belichick is telling us to do, he’s telling us to do it for a reason, and we’re going to do it at the highest level possible.”

“I feel like Gio is just going to be Gio. He’s going to do his thing. He’s going to make plays, he’s going to improvise, he’s going to put the ball where it needs to be. He’s going to be smart with the ball as well, and he’s not going to throw us into danger. He’s going to lead us. And I have one hundred percent faith in him.”

“We started throwing when (Gio) got here. So I’ve just built so much chemistry with him over time. I have so much trust in him, and we spend a lot of time off the field. We’re always talking on the phone. We go out to eat, stuff like that. Me, him, Alex Taylor, Ben Hall, we’re pretty tight. That’s like our close circle right there. We’re always together. So it’s just that trust that I have in him off the field and on the field.”