Belichick jokes when asked about QB battle, but says it’s ongoing

By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — Bill Belichick got a laugh Wednesday from his response when the inevitable quarterback question surfaced during a press conference at the Kenan Football Center.

Most observers see South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez, a redshirt sophomore, having the edge over senior Max Johnson, who has made an amazing comeback after a gruesome leg injury.

“Yeah, we’re getting ready to do this afternoon, announce the starting lineups and the play times and how we’d be substituting everything,” Belichick deadpanned. “[We’ll] get that to you as soon as we get done. We want to make sure we get that out there right away.”

The sarcasm landed. He was kidding and didn’t tip his hand.

Then, as he has so often throughout his career, the first-year UNC coach shifted back into business mode. With less than two weeks until the Tar Heels’ Sept. 1 opener against TCU, Belichick said the quarterback competition remains open, even if the picture is coming into focus.

“There’s no doubt some players have separated themselves from others, and that’s a big part of what last week and this week really are about, are the evaluations and the separation,” he said. “Who’s earned playing time, who’s earned positions, and who hasn’t? I think that will be finalized at a later point in time, but certainly there’s starting to be some separation.”

Belichick, who has seen nearly every roster scenario possible in two decades with the Patriots, sounded like a man weighing not just who is best today, but who will be best when the season stretches into November.

“That’s always a hard one,” he said. “When a player who’s maybe less talented but more experienced outperforms a player who’s less experienced and more talented, and then you just, as a coach, wonder what will happen when that less experienced player gains the experience because he has more talent and maybe more potential.”

Belichick hinted the quarterback decision might linger until closer to kickoff against TCU.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a of couple things changed from where we are now to a week from now, but we’ll just have to see how that turns out,” he said. “I can’t tell you how players are going to perform. That’ll be up to them.”

That patience is pure Belichick. In New England, he rarely declared starters early — most famously in the Drew Bledsoe–Tom Brady transition in 2001. But at the college level, there’s no preseason game to provide clarity. That means early September might provide as many answers as late August.

Here’s what Belichick said about some other topics:

Adjustments for a left-handed quarterback

The quarterback’s handedness adds complexity, something Belichick admitted is real —though not overwhelming. It’s a factor because both Lopez and Johnson are left-handed.

“Yeah, I think the lefty-righty thing is a little bit involved with play-calling, especially play-action passes, things like that, when you have to turn your back on the defense and the footwork,” he said.

Belichick even dipped into West Coast offense lore for perspective.

“I think if you go back and look at Coach Bill Walsh, he’s a coach who has talked a lot about that, from [Joe] Montana to Steve Young as an example, and how it changed their offense,” said Belichick of how Walsh dealt with the left-handed Young. “Fundamentally, it’s the same, but there are some nuances that are a little bit different.”

Belichick noted that the biggest shift comes in blind-side protection — the right tackle is a more important blocker than the left tackle — but Belichick downplayed any major systemic overhaul.

“But the lefty-righty thing, I think, there’s some nuances to it. No doubt about it, I don’t think it’s dramatic though,” he said. “I think you could still you run your offense the way you run your offense.”

Offensive line continuity

Asked if the quarterback’s throwing hand changes the blocking schemes, Belichick pivoted to something that keeps every coach up at night: continuity, which became a bigger concern with center Austin Blaske out until at least early October.

“Sure, it’s the five guys that are out there, but I know from experience that very rarely does any team play with the same five offensive linemen through the entire season,” Belichick said. “It just statistically doesn’t happen very often.”

Belichick noted UNC has been moving linemen to multiple spots — centers taking guard reps, guards working at tackle — to build versatility. That flexibility will matter once injuries hit.

Belichick estimated that around 10% or 15% of NFL teams play the same five offensive linemen all season.

“Everybody had to deal with some type of changes on the offensive line,” he said. “And I’m sure that’s true in college football, too, based on the time I spent scouting it. You have to be ready to put your best guys out there in the best positions. But also stuff happens, and then you have to be ready to adjust.”

Managing a short turnaround after the opener

UNC opens against TCU on Monday night, then plays again five days later at Charlotte. Belichick compared it to his NFL years.

“It’ll be similar to what we had in the NFL, where we had Sunday and Thursday games,” he said. “That goes all the way back to some Thanksgiving games, really. At the beginning of my career, we had those.”

His approach: treat Week 1 like a normal Saturday and back up the schedule accordingly, then deal with the short week later.

What keeps Belichick hooked on football at 73?

For someone with eight Super Bowl rings and a Hall of Fame resume, why grind through a college camp? Belichick lit up at that question.

“I enjoy all of it,” he said. “I enjoy bringing players onto the team, whether that’s recruiting or transfer or scouting those players, evaluating them. I enjoy the team-building. Bring the team together, seeing these guys come together and learn how to become a team, the strategy, the X’s and O’s and the competition of it.”

The biggest difference from the NFL, he said, is the developmental curve.

“The rate of improvement is a lot higher here,” Belichick said. “We’ve seen a lot more growth and improvement than what we would in the NFL, in terms of percentages and the raw numbers.”

Physicality in camp

Belichick said UNC has done more live work than he ever did in the NFL, and so far the team has avoided major injuries.

“The intensity has been good, the competitiveness has been good,” he said. “We really haven’t had too many issues, very few injuries to deal with, even though we’ve had quite a bit of contact in our padded days.”

Month/ date	Score/ time	Opponent	Record/ TV
September
1	L, 48–14	vs. TCU	0–1
6	W, 20–3	at Charlotte	1–1
13	W, 41–6	vs. Richmond	2–1
20	L, 34–9	at UCF	2–2
October
4	L, 38–10	vs. Clemson	2–3, 0–1 ACC
17 (Fri.)	L, 21–18	at California	2–4, 0–2
25	L, 17–16, OT	vs. No. 16 Virginia	2–5, 0–3
31 (Fri.)	W, 27–10	at Syracuse	3–5, 1–3
November
8	W, 20–15	vs. Stanford	4–5, 2–3
15	L, 28–12	at Wake Forest	4–6, 2–4
22	L, 32–25	vs. Duke	4–7, 2–5
29	L, 42–19	at N.C. State	4–8, 2–6