For North Carolina, the clearest sign of how this season opener played out may not have been on the scoreboard alone. It showed up in the snap counts.
The Tar Heels opened the Bill Belichick era with a win over TCU, and that alone gave the program something it has not had much of lately: a little momentum. It was just one game, and tougher tests are coming, but starting 1-0 matters. It matters even more when you remember North Carolina lost to the same TCU team 48-14 a year ago, and Steve Belichick was not on the staff for that one.
The defensive workload tells you plenty about who this coaching staff trusts right now. North Carolina’s defense was on the field for 72 snaps, and only two players - linebacker Derek McDonald and cornerback Jaiden Patterson - stayed out there for every one of them. Pass rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude would likely have added to his total if not for the hand injury that briefly forced him out in the first half.
Safety Greg Smith was right behind them with 69 snaps, another sign that Belichick is leaning hard on veterans early. That makes sense with younger talent waiting in the wings, including defensive backs Kenton Dopson III and Jakob Weatherspoon. In these first weeks, experience is the currency.
There was also a notable spread in how the line was used. Leroy Jackson logged 58 snaps, and every single one came off the edge. That kind of usage points to the flexibility Belichick had up front, cycling through different combinations throughout the night.
This could have been a game for experimentation, but North Carolina could not afford to treat it that way. The Tar Heels needed the result too much. Still, there were several defenders who never left the field while the offense was on the field: Andrew Threatt, Shaq McRoy, Jordan Hall, Aidan Banfield, and Christo Kelly.
On the other side, the offensive line remains one of the offseason’s biggest changes. North Carolina made the trenches a priority in the transfer portal, and the difference from last year is hard to miss.
By the end of last season, injuries had turned the line into a patchwork group, and that was a major reason the offense struggled in 2025. This season, the starting line and the depth behind it look much stronger.
In Other News...
Billy Edwards UNC Debut Sparked A Quarterback Debate Fans Know Well
Fall camp is barely in the rearview mirror, but the quarterback discussion around North Carolina already has the familiar split between patience and urgency. Miles ONeill, Travis Burgess and Billy Edwards Jr. have each drawn support from different corners of the fan base, and Edwards recent debut only sharpened the conversation by giving supporters and skeptics fresh evidence to work with.
What stood out most was the way Edwards handled the job in difficult conditions, leaning on safe decisions and avoiding the kind of risky throws that can tilt a game the wrong way. ESPNs stat department flagged his contested passes, which only added to the debate over whether he looked like a steady game manager or a quarterback still leaving something on the table, and for Tar Heels fans, thats exactly the kind of argument that can stretch well beyond one afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Sent A Clear Message About Michael Malones First Team
North Carolinas mens basketball program has made a striking financial push ahead of Michael Malones first full roster build, lifting its 2026-2027 roster budget to more than $20 million. That is a major jump from roughly $14 million last season and signals just how aggressively the Tar Heels are backing Malone as he puts his stamp on the program.
Malone has been active with boosters since taking over, and the structure of the budget shows how seriously UNC is approaching the new era. His contract includes $6.75 million in revenue sharing for NIL, with the rest of the money reportedly coming from booster support, a setup that points to a program ready to compete at the highest end of college basketballs spending race. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Just Entered A New NIL Era With Major Branding Stakes
Edward Jones is making a broad push into college sports, and North Carolina is part of the package. The firm has locked in a multi-year sponsorship deal with Duke, Oregon and UNC through Learfield, paying nearly $34 million over four years for the three partnerships, a sign that corporate money is continuing to flow deeper into the college athletics landscape.
For the Tar Heels, the arrangement adds another layer to a changing NIL world, where school branding and athlete marketing opportunities are increasingly tied together. The deal includes student-athlete NIL rights, giving UNC players a chance to take part in select Edward Jones marketing campaigns, while the broader partnership underscores how valuable major programs remain as companies look to connect with fans, recruits and athletes at the same time. [Read more 🡒]