By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — Gio Lopez decided to move on from North Carolina after one season, but made it clear that he has no ill will toward Coach Bill Belichick.
Now at Wake Forest, Lopez lamented that he wishes the Tar Heels had taken more advantage of his running ability during his season in Chapel Hill, but said that his decision to transfer involved several factors.
“I don’t have a particular feel towards anything,” Lopez said. “Coach [Freddie] Kitchens called the offense, and I was just trying to execute it. I know [Wake Forest offensive coordinator Rob] Ezell’s going to put me in some more running situations, let me be an athlete. So, I’m looking forward to it.”
Lopez said the decision to leave Chapel Hill came together quickly, and that it wasn’t a single issue that pushed him out the door.
“It kind of came about everything,” Lopez said. “A new offensive coordinator and a lot of stuff played into it. But the discussion was pretty quick. Coaches were understanding. All the coaches were really nice. I have great love for all the coaches. So, it wasn’t any bad blood or anything. This situation that didn’t work out.”
In 11 games for UNC, he completed 170 of 261 passes for 10 touchdowns, 1,747 yards and five interceptions, rushing 86 times for 133 yards.
Last season, when many fans were ready to try somebody else at quarterback, Belichick stayed with Lopez and started him every game when injuries didn’t keep him out of the lineup.
Lopez and Belichick saw each other at the Hilton Uptown Charlotte on Thursday and embraced.
“Coach Belichick was always in my corner,” Lopez said. “When I saw him, I was happy to see him. I gave him a big old hug, dap him up. I love playing for Coach Belichick. He’s a great guy.”
Lopez pushed back on the idea that the move to North Carolina had been driven by money or by the pull of playing for a Super Bowl-winning coach, even in hindsight.
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“Playing for Coach Belichick was an opportunity not a lot of people would have passed up, I don’t think,” Lopez said. “But I still have the opportunity to say I played for him, and down the years be able to look back at it and be like, ‘Hey, I played for Coach Belichick.’ It’s an opportunity.”
Lopez said he doesn’t regret the season, even if the results didn’t match the expectations that came with Belichick’s arrival.
“I learned a lot from Coach Belichick, and wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “Didn’t get the result I wanted to. But I think, overall, the opportunity to play there was awesome. I don’t think there’s anything I would change.”
Part of the difficulty, Lopez said, stemmed from the roster being built late. A wave of transfers, including Lopez, arrived after spring practice, leaving little time to build chemistry before the season began.
“It was a lot of us,” Lopez said of the transfers. “So, just getting to know each other, we didn’t have a lot of time to build a bond. Throughout the season, we built the bond through adversity. But I think it showed toward the back end of the season a little bit. We were playing better together, but I think overall, it just didn’t work itself out so fast.”
Lopez never was 100% all season, even when he was cleared to play.
“I had a tough deal,” Lopez said. “I remember I got in a car accident right before the first game of the season, so that was kind of rough.”
Through it all, Lopez said he leaned on his parents and on Belichick to get through the scrutiny that came with playing in Chapel Hill.
“Criticism happens,” Lopez said. “It was something good for me. I luckily deleted social media right before the TCU game, so I didn’t have to experience all of that. But I think, for me, it was just leaning on my mom and dad and being able to talk to them no matter what was going on. And then Coach Belichick was always super supportive of me, making sure I was doing well and all that. He was amazing for me.”
Despite the way it ended, Lopez said he still believes in what Belichick is building at North Carolina.
“I have full belief in Coach Belichick,” Lopez said. “He’s going to get it all turned around. They got great players over there. I’m excited to see what they do. I’m still super-supportive of all the players over there. I love them. I hope to see them have a great year.”
At Wake Forest, Lopez has been reunited with Ezell, who recruited him out of high school and was his offensive coordinator at South Alabama. Lopez said the transition back into a familiar system has been seamless.
“It’s been different, of course,” Lopez said. “Being back in the offense I’m comfortable in, and Coach Ezell knows my strength. He’s known me since I was 16.”
Lopez credited Ezell with pushing him to be his best.
“He knows me,” Lopez said. “I think he truly cares about not just me, but every player playing to the best of their ability. So, he does a great job bringing out the best of everybody.”
Because Lopez had already played in Ezell’s system before, he said re-learning the offense came quickly.
“It was really easy for me to grasp the offense because I already played in it,” Lopez said. “So just being able to communicate to the guys that came in and the players that were already there.”
Lopez said his time under Belichick and Kitchens still shaped him as a passer, even if the North Carolina offense looked different from what he ran at South Alabama or now runs at Wake Forest.
“The big thing for me was just getting through my progression,” Lopez said. “When I was at South Alabama, I was kind of one-to-two [progressions] to run, and being at UNC with Coach Belichick and playing a more pro-style offense with Coach Kitchens, I was 1-2-3-4, having to get through progressions for an empty set into my fifth read, stuff like that. Just being able to get through my progression, understand the offense and then take care of protections as well. Going back into Ezell’s offense, knowing it, but also being able to add to it, has been a huge factor.”
Lopez said he doesn’t have a clear explanation for how last season unraveled.
“It just didn’t work itself out,” Lopez said. “Everyone can point fingers, say different things, but I think overall, it just didn’t work itself out.”
Still, Lopez said the losing stretch never broke the locker room, pointing to the way the Tar Heels rallied to close the season with several close wins.
“You can say that when we lost to TCU,” Lopez said. “But I think a lot of guys, we all love playing football. Playing for Coach Belichick was an opportunity no one wanted to pass up or let go to waste. I think we did a great job of finishing the season and keeping up with competitive games, because we could have rolled over and not cared about it.”
Now settled in at Wake Forest, Lopez said the fit feels natural, both schematically and personally, as he looks to show a fuller version of his game this season.
Photo courtesy of the ACC
