North Carolina’s 2026 season is shaping up to be about one thing above all else: getting back to competence. After a 4-8 finish in 2025, a 13th-place ACC result and no bowl berth for the first time since 2018, the Tar Heels spent the offseason trying to reset the whole operation. That meant a new coach in Bill Belichick, a new offensive coordinator in Bobby Petrino and a roster overhaul aimed at raising the floor fast.
The expectation level outside Chapel Hill is still pretty modest, and for good reason. North Carolina has plenty of questions to answer, but the hope is that Belichick’s second season will look far more organized on both sides of the ball.
The pressure is real, too: if Belichick wants to be back in 2027, six wins and a bowl game are the bare minimum. Anything less, and the noise around the program is only going to grow louder.
That backdrop makes the Tar Heels’ defensive line especially important, and it helps explain why Hoilette Jr. lands at No. 10 in the 2026 countdown. North Carolina’s best unit in 2025 was up front, where it generated steady pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and keeping that edge while adding more help in the trenches was a priority.
Hoilette Jr. looks like one of the better low-key additions North Carolina made in the transfer portal. The former Richmond pass rusher put up 43 tackles, 6.5 sacks and two deflected passes in 2025, showing he can affect plays in more than one way. At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, he brings the kind of size and production that fits what the Tar Heels need.
He’s projected to start at defensive end opposite Melkart Abou-Jaoude, with Jaylen Harvey also in the mix after North Carolina signed him in the portal. That competition matters, but Hoilette Jr.’s experience gives him a strong case to be a regular part of the rotation right away.
And that’s where his value really shows up. With major turnover at linebacker and in the secondary, North Carolina needs the defensive line to carry more of the load, especially early while the offense works through its growing pains.
Hoilette Jr. may not have arrived with the flashiest reputation in the portal, but his ability to rush the passer and hold up against the run could end up making him one of the most important players on the defense. If he wins the starting job over Harvey, he has a chance to be one of the Tar Heels’ most productive defenders.
In Other News...
Caleb Wilson Just Earned Massive Praise From An NBA Legend
Caleb Wilsons Summer League showing in Las Vegas drew a familiar face to the stands, with Kevin Garnett taking in the Chicago Bulls-Los Angeles Lakers matchup to watch the North Carolina forward. Wilson made the most of the spotlight, filling up the box score with 21 points and eight rebounds while also adding across the board contributions that helped him stand out in a crowded setting.
For a player still trying to carve out his place at the next level, getting that kind of attention from a Hall of Famer carries real weight. Garnetts presence alone said plenty about Wilsons rising profile, and the performance gave him a stage to show he can do more than just score, even if the most memorable moment from the night may have been the kind of play that tends to travel fast once Summer League highlights start making the rounds. [Read more 🡒]
This Tiny Bill Belichick Detail Is So Perfectly On Brand
The Bill Belichick era at North Carolina has already come with plenty of intrigue, but sometimes the clearest window into a coach comes from something as ordinary as the car he drives. Christo Kelly, an offensive lineman for UNC, recently offered one of those small but revealing details, saying Belichick rolls around in a red Volvo station wagon from the 2000s, the kind of ride that fits the longtime coachs famously stripped-down approach to life.
Kellys observation lands because it matches the image Belichick has spent years building around football first, everything else second. With the coachs personal life drawing outside attention as well, little moments like this stand out even more, and for Tar Heels fans they serve as another reminder that the man now leading the program still seems to operate by his own old-school rules. [Read more 🡒]