Latest news with #UNCfootball
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fox Sports CFB analyst confident in UNC's chances ahead of 2025 season
There's plenty to be excited about this fall for the UNC football program, which begins a new chapter on Monday, September 1 at 8 p.m. against TCU. North Carolina stole college football headlines in December 2024, hiring 8-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick to be its next head coach. The Tar Heels will play new starters across the board, particularly on the defensive line and possibly quarterback. With all the mystery and potential in Chapel Hill, the excitement for college football at UNC is valid. In Fox Sports lead CFB analyst Joel Klatt's College Football Stock Watch, Klatt is "buying" stock in North Carolina. "I landed on the Tar Heels for two reasons: trust and schedule," Klatt said. "This team went under .500 a year ago, and it has a lot of transfers, so it's tough to project how this roster is going to do. "I don't think Belichick cares about all the noise surrounding him and the program as of late. I think he cares about just getting his players to do their jobs. If they can do that in that conference against that schedule, no one is running away from the Tar Heels. I think Belichick has a good chance of convincing his roster to not only do their jobs, but to also find ways not to beat themselves." Depending on how you evaluate the Tar Heels' 2025 opponents, their schedule is pretty favorable. UNC plays Charlotte and Richmond in consecutive weeks. North Carolina faces two more tough teams in UCF and Clemson, sandwiched around a bye week, but also the likes of California, Virginia, Stanford and Wake Forest. Syracuse, Duke and NC State will all prove to be good challenges for the Tar Heels, with their season finale in Raleigh carrying more implications than just a win. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Joel Klatt "buying" stock in UNC football for 2025 season
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Class of 2026 defensive lineman tabs UNC among finalists
The UNC football program is trying to further capitalize on its already-strong 2026 recruiting class, which ranks top 15 nationally across college football. North Carolina already has several commitments in its 2026 class, highlighted by a trio of 4-stars in edge rusher Zavion Griffin-Haynes, quarterback Travis Burgess and defensive tackle Trashawn Ruffin. The Tar Heels typically land a ton of in-state talent, with a few North Carolina natives in their 2026 class, but Bill Belichick's arrival as head coach is also attracting out-of-state prospects. Advertisement In less than two weeks, UNC could gain its 22nd commitment. On Tuesday, Class of 2026 3-star defensive lineman Manoah Fuapusa included the Tar Heels amongst his final three destinations. Joining North Carolina amongst Fuapusa's finalists are Arizona and Colorado, a pair of former Pac-12 schools now in the Big 12. According to Fuapusa's 247Sports recruiting profile, he is the 67th-ranked prospect from California – and 89th-ranked defensive line prospect nationally. If Fuapusa commits to UNC, he'll be the seventh defensive line prospect to do so. The Tar Heels already have verbals from Zavion and Jayden Griffin-Haynes, Ashton Blatt, Jimmy-Phrisco Phillips, Ruffin and David Jackson. Advertisement Though 2024 was another mediocre finish for North Carolina, its defensive line was undoubtedly a team strength, headlined by names like Kaimon Rucker and Beau Atkinson. This coming fall will be a different story for UNC, which replaces every 2024 starter. Belichick added some big names to fill starting spots along his new program's D-line, with Penn State transfer Vilbert Smith and UConn transfer Pryce Yates headlining that important group. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC football makes final 3 for 2026 defensive lineman Manoah Fuapusa
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bill Belichick sheds new light on Jordon Hudson romance in leaked emails after disastrous CBS interview
Bill Belichick 's attempts to defend his relationship with Jordon Hudson and his disastrous interview with CBS have been laid bare in emails that emerged Friday. The legendary NFL coach, 73, is preparing for his first season in college football but his tenure has been so far overshadowed by headlines surrounding his romance with Hudson, 24. A string of explosive reports have emerged over recent weeks, in the wake of a humiliating interview with CBS, when Hudson shut down questions about the start of their relationship. The clip went viral and sparked fresh speculation surrounding Hudson's influence over the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach. One clip of her at UNC practice caused a particular headache for the legendary coach and soon reports emerged that she had been banned from the team's facilities. UNC denied that was the case. Now emails obtained by WRAL detail the fallout from the CBS interview. They show that disgruntled fans felt the relationship was turning the school into a 'laughing stock'. In the emails, however, Belichick defended Hudson and their romance. 'Jordon and I have both a personal & professional relationship,' Belichick wrote to Beth Keith, a senior associate vice chancellor in the Office of University Communications. 'This is not a secret... Jordon assists me with my personal media, which is why I asked UNC to forward media requests (E.G. CBS 60 Minutes) to her. 'Jordon has zero involvement in the UNC football program, beyond the degree that my personal media intersects with it.' He also explained why his young girlfriend was at the interview, which was organized to promote his new book: 'The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.' 'Jordon was present at the CBS interview because David Kass, the Simon & Schuster publicist, was not there,' Belichick claimed. 'I included Jordon in the book acknowledgments because she was a creative contributor to the book, including having the idea for formatting the 4 special pages in the book.' According to WRAL News, however, Hudson intended to sit in on the April 21 interview regardless of whether Kass was there. Belichick defended his girlfriend's interruption and accused CBS of setting up a 'secret' camera to capture her input. 'I met Jordon randomly on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021. That is no secret. Jordon was not dodging the specific question regarding how we met, but rather was preventing the interview from continuing to probe into personal matters,' Belichick wrote. The 73-year-old also claimed, per WRAL, that at the start of the interview Hudson asked where she could sit 'off-camera' but 'secretly, CBS had a camera focused on Jordon where Lead producer Gabe (Gabriel Falcon) instructed her to sit.' He added: 'For approximately 35 uninterrupted minutes, (CBS host Tony Dokoupil) asked questions about the book... then, the questions shifted to other subjects that were not related to the Art of Winning, which we had outlined as off-limits with my book publicist.' WRAL also revealed an email from a disgruntled UNC fan and former student who said they have 'never felt compelled to write a letter to our leadership, until now. I'm writing in response to the actions taken by Bill Belichick and his 24 year old girlfriend.'
Fox News
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Bill Belichick insists girlfriend has no UNC football role, won't be on sidelines
When Bill Belichick leads North Carolina on the field for his first game as the Tar Heels head coach against TCU on Sept. 1, don't expect to see the person he's made headlines with this offseason accompanying him. Belichick told reporters this week that his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, will not be on the sideline for any UNC game this upcoming season. He also added that Hudson isn't a member of the Tar Heels' football program. "No, she doesn't have any role in the UNC football program," Belichick said when asked if Hudson would be on the sideline for games this season. "But, again, there's been noise out there about a lot of different things. Again, our focus is day to day, getting better, stacking good days together. Having good rest, recovery, and training. Moving forward the next day." Belichick's affirmation that Hudson isn't a member of UNC's football program matches what he told ESPN at the ACC's spring meetings in May, saying that she "doesn't have anything to do with football." While Belichick has said Hudson has no role with the football program, emails obtained by The Assembly in March showed that Belichick asked UNC staff to copy Hudson on every email sent to him. That led to speculation about her involvement with UNC's football program, with Pablo Torre reporting that Hudson had been banned from the school's football facilities in May. However, UNC denied that report. "While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities," the school said in a statement on May 9. "Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick's personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University." As Belichick and UNC have asserted that Hudson has no role with the football program, that hasn't stopped the couple from being commonly mentioned in headlines this offseason. Belichick insisted that they haven't, and won't, be a distraction, though. "Look, I'm really focused on doing my job here at North Carolina … that's my big focus," Belichick said. "Is there noise out there? We've always dealt with that. Really, our job is to build a football team and … help build the team and also build their individual careers. So that's really where we're at." A clip from Belichick's interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" went viral in late April when Hudson interrupted to shut down a question. That interview caused some to dig into Belichick's personal life, with intimate details of his and Hudson's relationship emerging as a result. After notably being close-guarded during his 24-year tenure as the New England Patriots' head coach, the developments of what's happened over the last month have been off-brand for Belichick. But he didn't seem to share any regrets over what has transpired when asked if he would've returned to coaching had he known there would've been this much interest in his personal life. "On some of the noises out there, the book and stuff like that, it is what it is. That's a personal venture I entered into when I wasn't in coaching last year," Belichick said, referring to the promotional tour of his recently released book "The Art of Winning: Lessons from a Life in Football." "Hopefully, that will be a big purchase on Father's Day." The off-field drama surrounding Belichick and Hudson led many to speculate whether he'd remain UNC's head coach for much longer. There was also a clause in his contract that allowed him to get out of his contract for just $1 million on June 1, dropping from the previous penalty of $10 million. [Related: June 1 has arrived. What does that mean for Bill Belichick and UNC?] But as UNC and Belichick continue to host football camps in June, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has remained committed to the Tar Heels. He's also appreciative of the level of commitment his players have shown this offseason, too. "Look, these are great kids to work with, they really are," Belichick said. "We've had great buy-in. There have really been no problems at all. These guys are on time, they're early, they work hard, they put in the work in the weight room, out on the field. They spend time on their own, whether it's doing extra training or coming over and watching film and that type of thing. "They've made a ton of improvement and these guys are a lot better than they were when we started in January, on every level. So it's exciting to see where that's going to take us." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
Fox News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Bill Belichick plugs book as Father's Day gift idea in response to questions about relationship ‘noise'
Bill Belichick's brief tenure as UNC football coach has largely been defined by the NFL legend's relationship with Jordon Hudson. Tuesday was no different when the longtime coach faced more inquiries about his personal life. Only this time, he embraced the line of questioning as a marketing opportunity. Speaking to reporters this week, the former New England Patriots head coach faced a pair of questions about the buzz surrounding his personal life during the Tar Heels' offseason. Belichick was asked specifically what he believed was the "biggest misconception" about his time at Chapel Hill. "I don't know. I'm really focused on doing my job here at Carolina, which is to help our football team, and that's just to get better every day. You know, to stack those days together – training days, preparation days, days out on the field, and we've done that. Our staff's done a great job of working hard to do that. That's my big focus." "Is there noise out there? We've always dealt with that," he continued. "Really, our job is to build the football team and… also build their individual careers. That's really where we're at." Belichick was pressed further when asked if he would have come back to coaching knowing what he does now about the attention or if it's taken away from the experience. But instead of a brief response that many NFL fans have become familiar with, Belichick responded with a quip about his recent book. "On some of the noise that's out there – the book and stuff like that, I mean it is what it is. That's a personal venture that I entered into when I wasn't in coaching last year. Hopefully that'll be a big purchase on Father's Day," he said with a smile. Belichick's book – and relationship with 24-year-old Hudson – made headlines in April when, during an interview with CBS News, Hudson shut down questions about the couple's relationship. According to reports at the time, Hudson interrupted on several occasions, including shutting down the question about how they met, and even stormed off at one point, delaying the interview by around 30 minutes. Belichick responded at the time to the fallout from the interview with a statement claiming that he "clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book." Belichick added that he was "surprised" about getting the questions about his relationship and that when Hudson stepped in, she was doing her job. He went on to accuse CBS of creating a "false narrative" with so-called "selectively edited clips." CBS responded, disagreeing with Belichick's version of events. "When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview," the company said. "There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed." Belichick will make his debut when UNC hosts TCU on Monday, Sept. 1. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
