Bill Belichick is still in the process of building his first roster at North Carolina, and it appears the legendary coach has landed a new starting quarterback.
South Alabama transfer quarterback Gio Lopez announced on Thursday that he has committed to UNC. Lopez shared a photo on social media that showed him in Carolina blue.
“Excited and grateful, go Heels!” Lopez wrote on X.
Excited and grateful, go Heels!🐏 @UNCFootball pic.twitter.com/1qpdXxsHXa
— Gio Lopez 7️⃣ (@lopezgio1) April 18, 2025
Lopez, a former 3-star recruit from Madison, Ala., is a dual-threat quarterback. He started 11 games for South Alabama as a redshirt freshman last season and threw for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Lopez also had 465 rushing yards and 7 scores on the ground.
The Jaguars went 6-5 in Lopez’s starts.
UNC had a shaky quarterback situation last year after Max Johnson went down with a season-ending leg injury in Week 1. Jacolby Criswell took over at the starter after that and completed 58.1% of his passes for 2,459 yards, 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Criswell transferred to East Tennessee State in January. Johnson has said he intends to return next season, but Lopez will immediately become the favorite to enter 2025 as the Tar Heels’ starter.
There were rumblings earlier in the week that Belichick and UNC were interested in a more high-profile transfer quarterback, but they chose to focus on Lopez instead.
