#UNC players Christo Kelly, Jordan Shipp, Thad Dixon and Will Hardy at press conference

was a uh yeah yeah yeah the halftime of the uh women's patri league championship game uh you know went out on the court

and you know I took Irish dancing when I was you know a little bit younger second third grade and you know that training

kind of you know kind of came back and you know was put to fruition I got my dad like a jacket for it so you know I

told him I said hey here's the ROI for Irish dancing classes and you know I was a dance minor at Holy Cross uh you know

took classes my senior in my fifth year you know to be able to, you know, stay there the extra year. So, you know, good

uh good investment down the line. How how much is the the dance stuff they love? How much of it is it something you

embrace because it helps you with football and how does it help you? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a combination of

everything. You know, there's a lot of stretching, you know, you know, when you're doing ballet, the you know, the warm-ups and whatnot. It's good for

ankle mobility and, you know, it's uh, you know, it was a lot of fun. you know, you gota diversify your resume somehow

and, you know, obviously it's good for footwork, you know, being light on your feet and whatnot. So, it was, you know,

a pretty cool experience. Was very grateful for it. We go to Rob on the same Chris, I think you were coach

Belch's first. What was that process like? And

then what was unique about the conversations and individual meetings from him with him after that? Yeah, you

know, it was pretty uh, you know, it was pretty surreal. you know, I had a good relationship with his daughter, Amanda

Bellich, who was the women's lacrosse coach at Holy Cross and, you know, kind of getting uh connected through that

and, you know, the process happened pretty quickly from, you know, kind of the first conversation to, you know,

getting here on the visit and, you know, it's uh, you know, was like a dream, you know, to be able to play at this type of

institution at this level for, you know, not just coach Bichc, but coach friend and, you know, all the coaches on this

staff. uh you know it's pretty surreal and you know I wake up every day extremely grateful for the opportunity

that I have here and you know I know others share the same sentiment. Chris Adam over here

Christo hey Adam Smith in South Carolina just want to ask what how much how well have you gotten to know Gio MZ like what

is that working relationship like and h how what what is your view of the

quarterback position in general with this team? How is that shaping up? Yeah. Well, Gio's a great competitor and

obviously he, you know, had a, you know, great career at South Alabama. He's a, you know, pretty good golfer, very good,

uh, you know, very good club head speed. Uh, but, you know, just like everything,

you know, everything's a competition, you know, day in day out. So, you know, everyone's really just focused taking it

one day at a time. No one's really viewing anything as, you know, starter, not starter, you know, whatever that is.

you know, guys were brought in here to compete and you know, the message has been sent that, you know, you're going to earn everything, you know, every day.

So, you got to come with your agame and, you know, iron sharpens iron. So, you know, it's good to be in this, you know,

position where you have, you know, so many great players in the quarterback room and really all the rooms in general where, you know, guys are just going to

be pushing each other every day. So, what kind of golfer just, you know, violent with the

hips, you know, he can, you know, hits it very hard. It's it was very impressive. were at Top Golf last Saturday and uh you know we're having

Yeah, we're having we're having a long drive competition. Michael turn. Uh Christo, coming from uh

a small school on the FCS level to here school on the power on the power four level, what was the biggest what was the

area where you saw the biggest sort of jump in just the things that were available to you, the things that you

could do here uh coming to Carolina? Yeah, obviously the resources that we have here at North Carolina are pretty

tremendous from, you know, the facilities to the academic support and, you know, obviously having a graduate

school here. Um, you know, so the resources were, you know, a huge advantage and, you know, just being able

to, you know, have that at your disposal, being able to come in here pretty much whenever was, you know, a huge advantage. Um, you know, at the end

of the day, you know, football's football. You know, that's, uh, you that's just kind of really how it is. Obviously the, you know, the level of

athletes that are here, you know, pretty, you know, pretty impressive, but, you know, we was able to play with a lot of really good players at Holy

Cross, you know, guy, uh, you know, my buddy just got drafted this year and, you know, whatnot. So, um, you know,

overall the resources is probably the big thing, but, you know, what we have here and what we're building right now,

um, you know, kind of building that foundation day by day, brick by brick, it's, um, you know, it's truly special

and excited to be a part of it. primary group with WL. You mentioned the connection to to Belch's daughter. Um,

was the connection to Carolina or the connection to him? Like, how did you get involved in that recruiting process? And when you found out he was taking this

job, did you get a call into him or were you already looking at attract Carolina or different, you know, people? Yeah, I

mean obviously, you know, when you kind of go in the portal, you mark out, you know, what type of school is you're interested in and, you know, as you kind

of go through the process, your vision becomes more clear and, you know, Carolina kind of fit all the bill. Um,

and obviously with coach Bich coming here, the pedigree that he brings, you know, the the greatest coach of all

time, um, you know, undisputed, it's, uh, you know, it's pretty remarkable. Uh and you know I had Amanda Bichc reach

out to me and you know kind of get me connected here and then you know from there you know go through that process

get evaluated and um you know it was uh you know it was a perfect fit and you know just uh you're here now and it's

pretty great. You you mentioned greatest coach of all time. Is that intimidating? There's 18 year olds in that room you know 22 year olds who who've witnessed

this whole career at the Patriots and seen on Super Bowls I'm sure and now that guy's your coach. Is it somewhat

intimidating or what's the you know, I mean, maybe at first when you see him, it's, you know, all you see

is the, you know, Super Bowls that he's won, but, you know, when you get here and you see the way that he cares, you

see the way that he approaches the game, you see how hard he works. Um, you know, there's no question why he has the

success that he has, and, you know, the attention to detail, the emphasis on fundamentals, and, um, you know, really

just kind of creating competition for the guys. Uh, you know, that's what that's what's getting built here. and um

you know guys are guys are embracing it and you know he treats everybody with you know tremendous respect and you know

it's uh it's been great Alter from

Wonderful. Um just curious kind of answering my questions. I'm going to go a different different route. Um, what's

it been like for you and the players just just kind of seeing all the headlines and the news and the noise

from the outside which might be very different from the one you're living inside.

Yeah. I I mean outside noise is a part of playing college football that just comes with the territory, you know, it

doesn't really have any effect on, you know, us or, you know, the day-to-day where, you know, we're really just focused on, you know, competing, getting

better, and um, you know, again, just kind of stacking those days. Um, you know, everything else is just kind of noise and, you know, we're just worried

about keeping the main thing the main thing. Jeremiah. Yeah. Jeremiah Holloway with Inside Carolina. I wanted to ask

you about Will Fred, who's of course, you know, coach in the the offensive line unit. How would you describe his

coaching style and then also, I guess, the culture he's trying to implement into the offensive line. Yeah, you know,

he's uh he's very intense coach. you know, he's uh, you know, breeding toughness, but you know, the attention

to detail that, you know, he brings. It's um, you know, it's truly remarkable. He's teaching the game in a

way that's um, you know, allowing us to conceptually understand everything that's going on. And, you know, on top

of that, just the the emphasis on, you know, the toughness, the effort that um,

you know, that you need to bring day in and day out and, you know, really setting the standard and, you know, kind of understanding, you know, the team

goes as we go. So, we have to be the ones that, you know, set the pace and, you know, coach friend has coached, you

know, tremendous amount of NFL talent and, you know, he knows, you know, he knows how to do it and, um, you know,

we're very, very fortunate to have him here. He does, you know, does an awesome job and you obviously uh, you know,

coach Cory does an unbelievable job as well, you know, working in that room and, you know, we're truly blessed to have so many great coaches around us,

you know, wanting us to get better and, you know, promoting us to, you know, be our best. second Brian wanted to start off. How

was happening in your school environment then? And has it been what you expected?

Yeah, you know, you I think the biggest change was uh you know, not having a Boston winter, which was pretty nice.

So, you know, getting school cancelled with about an inch of snow and then having it be like 70°, you know, a

couple days later was uh you know, pretty remarkable. So, in that ways, it's been you know, it's been great.

But, you know, the the guys that we have here are tremendous and, you know, we're really building something great. And you

know for everything that North Carolina is you know this school and um you know the history that you know the school

carries the you know truly the greatest thing is you know about the people and you know that's the you know that's our

teammates that's the the support staff that's the coaches it's you know everyone you know is aligned on the same

mission you know with the same goal and you know everyone's really just committed to you know taking it one day at a time but you know giving everything

they have. And last one for me. Uh Christo, as I mentioned to coach, you're

coming into an offensive line that returns three starters in Banfield last week green. Seemed like you were taking

um doing a lot of snaps with the ones um during spring practice. What has it been like getting to know um those three

returning guys and also getting to know a lot of the guys that um coaches brought in from the portal from high

school? Yeah, you know, again, the you know, the big thing here is competition. you know, you got to earn everything

every day. And, you know, guys are going to rotate whatever it is, whatever position the, you know, position

versatility. It's a, you know, it's a huge thing being able to play with play with everyone, play both sides, you

know, whatever that is. And, you know, we have such a great, you know, great room. You know, everyone's doing such a

tremendous job. You know, Blaski being able to, you know, step up, be the leader that he is, you know, Trey, uh,

you know, Aiden, everyone's doing, you know, a tremendous job. And, um, you know, everyone's kind of, you know, jelling together. And you know, again,

it's, you know, the iron sharpens iron. Um, you know, when we're when we're running those bouts, it's, you know,

it's tough. You, you know, it's about the most tired you're ever going to get, but you know, you see the guy to the left to right. You know, given

everything they have, and it speaks to kind of the, you know, the culture of the whole team where everyone's pushing each other, everyone's, you know, you're

suffering, but it's a good thing. You know, that's uh, you know, that's what ultimately is going to pay off. You know, it's going to pay dividends later

in the season, and, you know, everyone's embracing it. Good stuff, Chris. Appreciate it. We're bring

What's the biggest difference that you've seen from the way Mike Brown his staff did the new staff and the way they're uh I mean, you know, um love

Coach Brown. Coach Brown had a great run here. You know, Coach Brown's a great coach. He did great at Texas. He's done great here, great seasons. And um

nothing to take nothing from coach Brown at all. Just coach Bichc comes with kind of like a different attitude. You know,

you can kind of tell, you know, the culture is changing and stuff like that. So, I would say that's kind of like the biggest difference between the two. You

got Jar right here. Yeah. Jordan, you had the opportunity to during the spring, you know, watch Cars Baker play

with him and things like that. Obviously, him being a young guy, freshman. What stood out to you about his game, the way that he plays, and I

guess some of his strengths and traits so far. I would say the biggest thing that stood out is really his work ethic. You know, we're um in the weight room,

like this just stuff off the field in the weight room after we lift, me and him were doing core after extra stuff after and a lot of the boys joined in

too. So, I would say the biggest thing for Bryce that's going to uh set him apart is the way he works and the way he approaches everything. His preparation

is elite. Um he's always in here watching film no matter what it is. He's watching NFL tape. He's already started

watching TCU and stuff like that. Just getting ready. So, I mean just his preparation is definitely like high level. Can't really tell he's a

freshman from We've seen so many players transfer

out, a lot of players transfer in. So, what was it like for you as somebody that was already Are you here kind of

going through that with new staff and then um I mean um it's hard to transfer from a school

that you love so much. I've had um a lot of friends have came here, a lot of friends have been successful here, and

it's also hard to leave the greatest coach of all time knowing you're having one of the greatest coach of all time coming here. It would have it wouldn't

have been smart for me to leave, especially when you know um like we brought in another great coach, Coach McGee, my position coach. He was in

Louisville. he recruited me at Louisville, so I had a good connection with him as well. So, it just felt like everything was kind of just falling into

place and it was just something I was like praying on it heavily and it was just something that was like just God, I just feel like I need to stay and kind

of led me to stay in here. So, that was the biggest thing. What was your onfield learning career

like last year from the beginning of the season and was there a point where you thought, okay, I think I'm starting to

get this now? Um, I would really say there's never really a point where you're kind of just like, all right, now

it's clicking. And it's more just like you just kind of start stacking plays. That's the biggest thing. You don't really want to look too far ahead. You

don't want to get too highs on your highs or two lows on your lows. You just want to worry about what you're doing right at that time. So for me, I feel

like my biggest thing was just trying to grow every day. I'm going against great athletes. You know, we had um Huzzy last

year, Marcus Allen, Caleb Cos, like great players, great ball players that I'm able to go against every day. So

instead of me looking far ahead into the future, I'm more worried about just growing step by step and dayto-day. And that's kind of the same approach that uh

Coach Bellich came in with. Just um we're going to take it day by day. We're gonna be tough, smart, dependable. So that's the biggest thing that I'm

working on. As a quick followup, did you go into it knowing it would be that way or is that just kind of how it turned

out? No, I feel like it's kind of it's just something that you kind of learned over time. You know, coming in as a freshman, it's um it's a lot of things

coming at you at one time, especially coming in mid year. So, it's just like some of the stuff that um some of the older boys kind of like drilled into us

like uh JJ Jones, he took me under his wing, Nate McCullum, guys like that just like just reminded me that like you're

young, like you're like I got here early so that spring like you're still supposed to be in high school and you're doing the same stuff we're doing. So,

just take it as a blessing and just just keep learning because you have a lot of time. Brian, Brian with W. What's been

the biggest surprise of of Coach Bel? has kind of thrown you maybe you weren't expecting him to coach like that or be

like that. Uh I would say, you know, I feel like uh coach uh has a narrative of

being like serious all the time. Coach, he jokes with us, he laughs with us. You know, we'll laugh in meetings. Uh he has

a humorous side to him as well. So I feel like that's the biggest thing that like the biggest curveball. You know, you're coming into like the first

meeting, you're expected to be serious, 100% locked in. He comes in and he introduced himself and then he bust a

joke. That's the second thing he said. So I mean just stuff like that. small stuff like that. Can you tell us? I

don't remember. I don't remember. Ship Adam Smith in South Carolina. Uh

that's exactly what I was going to ask you. Um about maybe biggest misconception. Is he funny? He is. He

is. You know, it c it catches you off guard. You don't really expect it. You know, we'll be like, you know, even if it's like like uh in the meetings, we

can we'll kind of laugh about play. Like there was a play where um I like tripped during the spring and I tripped right in

front of him. I mean it was just kind of like you know tripped on air, tripped on nothing. A lot of the boys laughing. It's just like it's just something where it's like you know something small like

that. Just something I can get through. And just real quick uh how would you compare and contrast what you think this

offense will look like compared to the to previous offense of last season? Like what are the similarities? What are the

differences? Um I mean that's kind of a hard question. I

mean, I feel like we're um we're just going to put the ball down to play. No matter what we're doing, we're going to put the ball down to play. You know, we're going to throw it. We're going to

run it. We have great receivers. We have great running backs. We've had people transfer in, transfer out, you know, quarterback situation. We're all all

four or five quarterbacks can play. So, no matter who plays, plug and play, whatever we do, I feel like we're going to be good regardless. And I know we

have uh with Coach Bellich, you know, he's going to make sure we're always on our thing. but also with coach Lombardi,

Coach Kitchens, Coach McGee, Coach Friend, that whole offensive staff, you know, we're they're all working together and also working with us to just start

dialing stuff in now. So, I mean, I feel like just can't really like nothing to really expect from us when you got to

the middle. So Jordan, when you officially

found out that coach was coming, what was your initial reaction and did that kind of a little

bit off yourself make you feel like

okay my first? Yeah, I mean um when I got the news I

was with uh my roommates Alex Varden and I we were all together and it was just it was just like like like that's the

greatest coach of all time and he's about to be coaching us. But I mean, at the same time, I still feel like you're going to get in what you put out, no

matter no matter what you do, no matter what you're doing. So, I mean, of course, that coach is going to lead us in a great way. He um we're definitely

the program has definitely changed into like more of like a NFL style program, you know, with the training, the

training room, the food, the recovery stuff, the uh strength and conditioning. Coach Moses is doing a great job. Um,

you know, it's tough. It's definitely hard. Um, like we just had came coming from a tough lift, but you know, it's it's going to help us in the long run.

So, I definitely feel like uh my dreams and goals are definitely attainable, but like I said, I'm more worried about just

just growing day dayto-day. Brian, last season you guys had three

quarterbacks starting all different playing styles. How did those changes last year with all the possibilities at

quarterback creating?

Uh, I mean, really, I feel like all three quarterbacks last year could ball. Connor was a ball player, Jacobe was a ball player, Max was a ball player. So,

it's really I don't really feel like um and I was blessed enough to have a great relationship with all of them. You know, we all throwing sessions. We all was

getting reps with everybody. There was no ones, twos, or threes and nothing like that. Everybody was getting reps with everybody cuz everybody could play.

So, I mean, you just you never knew what was going to happen. So, you know, um of course what happened to Max was unfortunate. What happened to Connor was

unfortunate and um Jacobe was a great player. He helped us out in many ways. Connor helped us out in many ways. And

even with Max hurt, he still helped us out in plenty of ways, too, you know. So, um, I feel like it's just just take

it for what it's for and build relationships with everybody, get reps with everybody because you just never know what could happen at any given

time. And the last one for Jeremiah here. Yeah, Jordan, one guy I wanted to ask you about going off of that is uh,

you know, Gio Lopez who of course you know came later. Um, how much I guess have you got to interact so far? And

just like what do you know about not only him but maybe like some of his game too? Like what I guess what do you know about Gio so far? Um, I've been able to

build a great relationship with Gio in a short amount of time. We've hung out plenty of times outside of ball just going to get something to eat, throwing

on our own, stuff like that. We I was at talk golf with him, too. We go play basketball and stuff like that. Be on the game. We talk a lot outside and

Gio's a great guy outside of ball. Like, you know, we um we haven't I haven't had a rep with him in pads yet, but I still

feel like my trust in him is just as high as everybody else. Like I said, we can plug and play any quarterback. All of them are good. All of them can ball.

All of them can play. So, I mean, I feel good with anybody. But off the field, Gio's a great guy. Comes from a great family. He's from Alabama. You know, the

accent's a little throws it a little bit, but I mean, love Gio and I um I'm excited for what he's going to bring to the program.

Appreciate y'all. We have defensive

backl.com. What was it about coach Steve Bellich and you working with him at

Washington that made you want to follow him across the country? Because that's that's a pretty long road trip for both

of y'all to come. Yeah, it's it's pretty far for sure. Um uh mainly just how

comfortable I am with him and playing in uh his defense. Um coach uh coach Steve, he runs a real good defense and it

really puts his players in the best position to make plays. So you know just being in a defense I already had success

in. I mean it was honestly it was it was an easy move. Is there like a trademark

of Steve Bellich defense that you can tell us about

physicality? Let's go to jail. Yeah. Jeremiah Holiday with Inside Carolina.

Of course, when Bill was in here, he was saying you had a really good spring in your leadership, things like that. Um,

how would you kind of assess your spring and just like also to to follow up on that, you were saying you felt like you

can play pretty much any position in the in the secondary? So, just your thoughts on your uh your performance in the

spring and also your where you fit in on the team. Yeah. Um, I feel like my performance in the spring was good. Um,

obviously not up to uh my standard, but you know, to everybody else's standard. I mean, I I feel like I did decent. Um,

I tried to come in and assert myself as a leader. Um, really just taking the next step uh in the leadership role and

trying to bring all the guys around me with me. So, um, you know, I feel like I performed really good in the spring, but I feel like I got a lot of stuff to work

on and it's a lot more that I can add to my game. Go to Brian second.

Brian, how well did you get to know Bill Delc? Did he interact with players and

did you get to know all that? Uh, I had a couple conversations with him. Um, you know, he wasn't really as involved as he

is here, obviously, because he wasn't a coach, but, you know, I shared a couple conversations with him, you know, and got a couple gems from him going into

some big games. And did that make an impact on your decision to come in? Um,

I mean, him as a coach himself had a bigger impact than the stuff he told me last year. Um, you know, I really just

wanted the opportunity, you know, to just to learn, you know, from somebody like that that did it in the league for so long. I mean just the opportunity to

learn is is is bigger than anything.

What kind of goals do you have for yourself? Uh goals for myself, man. Honestly, I

just I just want to win football games, you know, just go one and0 every day, attack the day, get better every day. And you know, I feel like my my personal

goals ain't as as good as like, you know, the team goals. So, honestly, I just want to win games. So add on the

front row that Adam Smith in South Carolina is a guy that you played in the college

football playoff. You played in the national championship game. A guy who has seen a lot of success. What is your

opinion of of how this defense is being built the pieces? How good can he be and and how much work

it still needs to be done? Um obviously we have a lot of work to uh still put in. Um I feel like but you know the way

this defense is trending man I mean it's going to be special. Um, you know, the the main thing about us is just our

relationship. We growing off the field. Feel like the best football teams on the field are the closest off, man. I just feel like, man, the dudes on the

defense. We've been we've been meshing and molding real good. So, you know, we going to be in for a good one. You're

smiling about it. Like, who who who are the playmakers on this defense? Would you say who who would you pick out?

Everybody. All 11 that go out there playmakers. Straight playmakers.

You mentioned something a few minutes ago about leadership. Does the fact that you played in the national title game

and had that cloud coming from Washington, did that help you establish leadership early? And what is your level

of leadership at this point? Um, I mean, obviously I played a lot of snaps, so you know, we got a lot of young guys.

They obviously, you know, they look up to me, a lot of young guys in the room, but um, I feel like what I did when I got here really established, uh, my

leadership. I wanted to come in and, you know, assert myself as one of the more dominant players. So, um, what I did,

what I when I got here, I feel like was more important than what I did before. cuz it don't matter what you do the year before, you know, it's all about what

people see and your first impression when you make when you get here. As a followup, you mentioned your standard. I

think maybe you have very high standing for yourself. Yes, sir. How good can you be? What kind of player are you?

Man, you just going to have to tune in and watch. I'm be one of the best in the country though.

You guys landed Andrew Simpson late. What have you seen? I'm sure you

saw him on last. Yeah. So, I actually grew up with Andrew Simpson. We grew up like two miles away from each other. So,

you know, this is a full circle moment, you know, to be sharing the field and sharing a jersey with him, man. It's it's honestly a blessing. Full circle

for sure. But, uh, Andrew is a very good player. He going to come in, he going to make a lot of good plays for us. Obviously, he's going to have to come in

and compete, but, you know, it's nothing that you can throw at him that he's not going to be ready for. I mean, I feel

like he going to be a good player for us. Were you guys together or No, we actually we played against each other,

but we had played seven on seven together and you football together.

I know your west coast guy. Yeah. Yes, sir. What's been the biggest difference coming over? I know.

Yeah, it's been a culture shock. Probably I'll say in the trees. It's a lot of trees out here,

bro. Every time I leave the house, it's a lot of trees. Uh the food been good. You know, the people real nice, but uh

yeah, probably just, you know, like the weather and like, you know, just being around nature a lot more. You know, I've been going fishing. Some of my teammates

took me fishing. some stuff I never done before. So, you know, it just be little stuff like that. You know, it's just different. But, you know, you you learn

to enjoy it. Rob, that basket. What did you guys make

of the no jersey numbers, no jersey names in the spring and throughout practice? Uh, yeah. Uh, honestly, we

didn't really think too much of it. I mean, the jersey number don't really define who you are as a player, you know? So, it's either you can play or

you can't. just because you in jersey number two or jersey number one, that'll make you good, better than somebody in

jersey number 47. So, um, you know, honestly, it just gave everybody a clean slate and, you know, uh, just a free

opportunity to just cut everything loose and just go compete, man. Just, you know, leave it all out there during the spring.

Anything else for that? All right. Good stuff, man. Appreciate

appreciate from just can you just in I guess easily

describe what the biggest changes have been back. Yeah, there's been a lot for

sure. Yeah, there's been a lot of new there's been a lot of good here. Um I've been a part of some great programs um

with coach Brown um and been fortunate enough to to be part of those staffs and those teams. Um we've had success. Um

Belich's brought some some new stuff. Um a culture uh as new and sort of uplifted

and um just a mindset that that attacks the day every single day. Um obviously

that brings new coaches too. So new position coach for me. Um new defensive coordinator. Um so new schemes which is

always fun to learn and play in. So there's been a lot of good um with with coach Bich.

Yeah. I'm kind of curious like how has it been for you personally getting to know all these new guys that have been coming in as someone who you know has

been around for a while. What's been that process of like establishing like all these new relationships with you

guys? Yeah, it's been exciting. It's been exciting as a as a leader on the team and an older guy that's been here for a while. Um there's there were a lot

of new guys in the in the spring and a lot of new guys now in the summer with freshman and transfers. Um it's just

been exciting to learn learn new people, meet new people, um take on a new challenge of leading those leading guys

on the team uh and just creating that team chemistry. That's this is an important part um this summer for us,

just building that team chemistry, getting ready for fall camp. So, it's exciting. Uh will when coach Brown left, you would

have been well within the rights to explore your options in the transfer portal, but obviously you came back and

you're still here. What was it about coach Belch's pitch to you that that worked on you and what brought you back

here? Uh, for sure. Yeah, there's a lot of things coach Bel doesn't need to say personally to me that just shows the

success he's had. Um, the players he's coached in the NFL. Um, so initially

seeing that was amazing. That's an easy uh sell to me. Um, and then once I got

to meet um, you talk to him personally but meet meet some of the coaches that he was going to bring in, uh, it was pretty simple for me to stay here. I I

just recently graduated from here. So, um there's power in staying one place and being loyal to one place and I

wanted to represent that Carolina blue for uh my whole career. Couple of guys have said that coach

Belchuk's a little different. Every once in a while he'll drop a joke or say something kind of funny. What did you expect him to be like? And at what point

did you realize, okay, he's he may be a legend, but he's a football coach. He's he's the kind of guy I've been around

years. Yeah, I I've I've loved getting to meet the actual like person side of Coach Bellich. um when it's serious,

he's serious, but there are times, like you said, when he'll just crack a joke out of nowhere. And just him being kind

of monotone sometimes will make those jokes so funny. Um but I've loved having one-on-one conversations with him. Uh

it's cool to see um sort of and meet him like personally cuz you know, you grow

up uh see him on TV and everything and he's just a completely different coach and guy u when you get to be around him

all day. It's cool. follow has everybody that you know back home has every one of them at some point asked you what's he

like there's a lot of that yeah you get a lot of how how is coach Bellich what's new what's different um so I've you know

I've rehearsed these questions a lot with family and friends but uh no it's it's all good stuff so answer

well I'm going put you on the spot with this question uh you're obviously super tight above Atinson um how difficult

from your vantage point how difficult of a decision was that for him to get into Portal? Did you try to talk him out of

it? Um, you know, it seemed like it was kind of a big deal for this fan base that he left. Like, can you just tell us

about sort of that dynamic? Yeah, I don't want to speak personally for Bo. Um, but he made the decision that he thought he he needed to make for

himself. Um, he's missed here. He's a great player, great friend of mine, and I wish him the best of luck, but um,

Bo's a great guy, and you know, he's going to do great wherever he's at. Brian on the second. Yeah. Well, you

mentioned we've heard about the the joking side of the law. Have you seen that serious side? That side that you

thought you you might be getting when he was hired and and what does when he gets serious, what is he most serious about?

Yeah, it's it's the little things. I've really enjoyed just when we're full team in the in the meeting room and he's

pointing out different stuff about the to the O line or to the D line. Like as me as a DB, it's important to learn all

of football to understand how it all connects. And so I've enjoyed that. But, you know, you get you'll get called out in front of the whole team and man, you

you got to just say yes, sir. Right. There's no uh there's no hiding in that respect. Um so, it's just been great.

You know, it's it's cool. I also love the way he coaches you one-on-one during practice. So, he'll pull me off to the side and just um you know, give me a

little nibbit here and there and it's just it's cool to see how he knows the full game in every single detail. So,

right, Briano, can you talk a little bit about kind of the differences in defensive

scheme? Could you elaborate on kind of differences in those schemes competing last year this year? Yeah, I don't want

to get too much into the scheme, but um there's just, you know, coach Bichc, um Steve Bichc, and head coach Bichc along

with my position coach Brian Belich. Um just allowing the safety specifically to play with freedom. Um just allow the

guys to go out there and make different checks for themselves. And so it gives you a lot of responsibility as a as a DV

and as a safety, but a lot of freedom, too. So I've enjoyed that aspect. You get the triple rel. Yes. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. It's pretty crazy. Anything else from Will

What were the emotions in December leading up to all this stuff and then when it finally happened? What do you remember about that that first meet with

Yeah, there's a lot of unknown, right? When you're preparing for a a bowl game, don't know who your coach is going to be

the next year. There's just a lot of unknown. Um but, you know, personally for me, I put my faith in the Lord and

so just I knew everything was going to work out. And then you see uh we hired the greatest coach of all time and there's not much better you could get

there. And so it was, you know, it went from unknown to very exciting in a quick quick time. And then that first meeting

with him was cool. It was exciting. Looking forward to to hearing what he had to say. Um and the whole team was

was dialed in for that meeting. I'll tell you, no one was talking during that meeting, so we were all listening.

So you graduated in three years. How heavy load did you take during the season in order to be able to graduate

in three years? Yeah. not not as heavy as you may think. Um I took basically whatever everyone else took in the

season and then us being here in the summer allows you to take almost a semester's worth in the summer and came

in with some credits from high school. But yeah, I was fortunate enough to graduate. Um it's it's always awesome

and it's great to be an alumni from University of Chapel. It's awesome.

Oh Will, you mentioned all the unknown was going on in December with coach Kitchens being the interim head coach. I

know he's on the opposite side of the ball from you, but how cool was it for the team that he is still on staff to

have that bridge from the last championship to this one? Yeah, I think it's important to keep some continuity

in any program. Um, we've got, you know, a bunch of different staff that are currently here, whether that's the training or the nutrition. Um, so it's

great for the guys that are currently here and just to keep that culture. Um, so I'm really excited that Coach

Kitchens is back with us. Last year we go to Adam and then D. Will how would you uh compare the like the offseasons

the offseason program from the the MAC regime now to the Bellich regime? You know, it seems like there's a huge

emphasis um on you guys training and stuff like that. Like what what does it

look like with the two different head coaches? Yeah. Yeah, I've been I've been a part of great programs and the the training staff we had last year was

amazing. Um and with Moses too, we've been working hard. I just finished squatting a lot and so had to rush over

here and do this which is awesome. Um but man, we we yeah we work we work and it's uh it's exciting to see. We run a

lot um with Moses so he says we're going to be the most conditioned team. Um and so I believe it cuz we run all day and

it's it's awesome. Is it structured differently? Not necessarily. At the end of the day

um the work's the work and you got to get it done. Um, but yeah, Bill, I know you talked a little

bit about the defense as a whole. I wanted to ask you specifically about Steve Bell. I know Dav was talking about

him not too long ago. How would you describe like his style as a coach and just like what specifically he kind of

tries to steal your coach? Just what is he like as a as a Yeah, he's he's a great coach. I think the dynamic between

him u his brother Brian Belichc who's my sadness coach is really cool and fun. They both sort of lead in their own way.

Um, but they give you freedom. I think that's the best thing. They want the best players to play and they'll fit the scheme around the players. Um, so

they're not going to, you know, try to put people where they shouldn't be. Um, they've been around the game a long time

to know that when you put the best players out there and you kind of cater to them that you all have the most success. Perfect. Good stuff. Well,

thanks so much.