As mentioned Thursday at ACC Kickoff was basically the Bill Belichick show. It was the first chance that a lot of media would have any sort of access to the legendary football coach, and interest was so high that they had to change up protocols for how he was interviewed after the first gathering.
The thing is, he wasn’t the only UNC representative in Charlotte.
Like everyone else, the Tar Heels brought four players with them: quarterback Gio Lopez, wide receiver Jordan Shipp, and defensive backs Thaddeus
Dixon and Will Hardy.
While Belichick himself didn’t do any one-on-one interviews, players themselves were available to do so and the assembled media took advantage.
Gio Lopez
The all-important quarterback position was the focus of the transfer who seems to be in a good place to be the starter since he was the only quarterback brought to speak about the offense. As such he sat down and spoke with various media members about the transition to UNC and start to give some idea as to how Belichick coaches.
Here’s his breakout session with the media, taking general questions.
He also spoke with 99.9 The Fan from Raleigh and gave a little more insight.
Finally here’s a snip of the interview he gave with Ovies and Giglio, the whole conversation can be found starting at the 32 minute mark.
Jordan Shipp
Shipp is one of the few returnees from last season, and as such is looking to make a mark in the new offense.
This is Shipp speaking with just the Triangle Media prior to the big get together at the Kickoff.
Then after the Kickoff press conference, Shipp sat down with folks for his breakout session.
Finally a good breakout of Shipp speaking of new offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who was on the staff last year and was the coach for the Fenway Bowl.
Thaddeus Dixon
Dixon played at Washington under new Defensive Coordinator Steve Belichick, and so might be the most knowledgeable on speaking of what the defense will be like.
Here’s Dixon speaking with the Triangle media prior to the Kickoff presser.
Here is Dixon speaking to the assembled media at his breakout session.
Finally, Dixon also spoke with Ovies and Giglio after Gio did, and gave his insight into playing both the Pac 12, the Big 10, and now under Belichick in the ACC.
Will Hardy
Hardy is another one of the few returning players in a defensive backfield that will be reshaped under Steve Belichick. His perspective on what has changed versus the previous leadership was a good one to bring.
Hardy also addressed the local media prior to the big breakouts.
Then Hardy spoke with the media that wanted to ask him questions at the breakout session.
Finally Hardy also spoke with 99.9 the Fan for his perspective on the UNC defense.
With talking season behind us, it’ll soon be time for players to lace up the pads and deal with the Chapel Hill heat in summer practices. We’ll see who speaks after each day of practice and what media is allowed to see, but considering how tight the messaging was this past week, don’t expect much else as the Tar Heels try to limit the information that gets into the hands of TCU.
More from tarheelblog.com:
- Joel Berry will return to North Carolina for his senior year
- Kevin Knox recruiting: Which school will land the five-star wing?
- Embracing the new era of the NBA Draft process
- Theo Pinson will enter the NBA Draft; won’t hire an agent
- UNC football recruiting: Tre Turner names North Carolina in his top 10 schools
- UNC, the NCAA, and the AFAM scandal: For people with a life
