By R.L. Bynum
When Moses Cabrera arrived in Chapel Hill, players quickly realized that conditioning would look different from past years.
North Carolina’s head strength and conditioning coach came with a résumé unlike most in college football. Cabrera spent more than a decade with the New England Patriots, helping them win three Super Bowls and earning a reputation for building physically and mentally tough teams.
For defensive lineman Leroy Jackson, a 6–1, 290-pound redshirt freshman, the transition into Cabrera’s conditioning program was eye-opening. From the first day, he said, the standard felt like something out of the NFL.
“The first day, the runs were crazy,” Jackson said. “Never seen runs like that. As we kept doing it from January to now, it kept getting better and better, but it also kept getting harder and harder. It kept raising the level.
“And with Moses, his love is for everybody,” Jackson said. “We also know that Moses loves us, and he’s doing it for a reason, and he’s been doing it for a long time. So, we’ve just got to buy into the process and keep stacking days.”
That doesn’t mean it’s easy.
What made those drills different wasn’t just the intensity. It was the way Cabrera demanded players lean on each other. For Jackson, the grind quickly became about more than stamina — it was about trust and brotherhood.
Jackson said that it has helped improve team chemistry as they all grind together.
“When you see everybody working hard, you see the other player besides you, which is your brother, working hard also,” Jackson said. “Everything we do with Moses has been brutal, but it’s just good to see your brother also working and also putting in the same work as you to try to make this team better and better day by day.”
Unlike many strength programs, Cabrera’s isn’t one-size-fits-all. His NFL background shows in the way he tailors drills to each position group. The goal isn’t just to get players in shape — it’s to prepare them for the exact demands of their role during games.
Cabrera mixes it up, whether it be gassers (a conditioning drill where players sprint the length of the field and back, usually twice) or sprints.
“He makes sure it’s related to your position,” Jackson said. “He’s not gonna tell a D lineman to do something our DB would do. So, he makes sure it’s football-related, but he makes sure it gets to the right thing and do what is needed done before he can prepare us for the first game.”
That preparation is crucial for a defensive line that looks very different from last season. With so many departures and a wave of new players joining the room, it’s a unit that outside observers have questioned. Jackson, though, is focused on what’s happening inside the building.
“My expectations are to compete how we compete, not to worry about what everybody else thinks, and just do what we do every day,” he said. “Not really worried about anything going on outside, and just keeping a level head to be able to compete every day.”
The turnover could have made for a rocky adjustment, but Jackson, who had one assist in his only game last season, said the new-look line has blended quickly. Transfers have added fresh talent, and the group has been intentional about developing chemistry on and off the field.
“I feel like everybody who came in with those players, collectively, we all came together pretty good,” he said. “Everybody got their own skill set and their own strengths and weaknesses, and we all just combined together to make a great D line when it’s time, and just taking it day by day and just learning other people and what they do best, and learning what you do best, and bringing it all together to make it work as one D line.”
For Jackson, carving out his role means more than just his snaps. Even as a younger player, he wants to help keep the defensive line focused and locked in.
“I think I bring a great physical and leader mindset and just keeping the D line focused,” he said. “We all got to stay focused through this time, and just taking it day by day and actually improving and staying at that level of competition during practice, during games, and it will make the games easier.”
Jackson has also found himself in a unique spot, learning not just from new staff members such as Cabrera but also from coaches with a last name that carries weight across football: Belichick. He’s being coached by both Defensive Coordinator Steve Belichick and Coach Bill Belichick, and said the dynamic between the two is both enlightening and, at times, entertaining.
That combination of Cabrera’s Super Bowl-tested conditioning and the Belichicks’ coaching has created a unique environment in Chapel Hill — one that has challenged Jackson to grow faster than he expected.
That growth extends beyond the weight room and the practice field. Nutrition, Jackson said, has become a priority as the staff has emphasized a complete approach to building players’ bodies. He’s already noticed the difference.
“With this new staff, we have a hard foundation. The standards are high, but we still got to take care of our bodies, and one of those things is nutrition, and that’s a big part of being healthy and staying on the field and doing what we can do as a person,” he said.
It all adds up to a daily grind — the kind Cabrera honed in Foxborough, and the kind the Belichicks have long demanded from their players. Jackson believes that standard is beginning to take root in Chapel Hill.
“Every practice is going to be a hard practice,” Jackson said. “Make the game easier, and just the competition level is high, and you got to stay at that level. You can’t go down. You got to keep going higher and higher.”
Photo via YouTube screenshot
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