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Former North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez had critical words for the Bill Belichick-run program in a recent interview after he transferred from the Tar Heels to Wake Forest.
Lopez transferred to North Carolina before the 2025 season from South Alabama. He played in 11 games for the Tar Heels and had 1,747 passing yards and 10 touchdown passes. North Carolina was 4-8 in Belichick’s first season at the helm.
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North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, NC on November 22, 2025. (William Howard/Imagn Images)
The former Tar Heels quarterback has been critical of his time at North Carolina and spoke out again in an interview with ESPN late last month.
“Back at the other school, it felt like there was no air,” he told the broadcast. “Here it’s fun again. They’re moving us in the right direction, energetically, and guys are enjoying football. It’s like fresh air. I’d never had to react to tough situations like that on the high scale.”
Belichick spent 24 seasons as the head coach of the NFL’s New England Patriots, guiding the team to six Super Bowl titles. After leaving the Patriots, Belichick took the Tar Heels’ job and brought his NFL experience and professionalism to North Carolina.
Lopez said being in North Carolina felt “more like work.”
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North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez looks to pass during the second quarter at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, NC on November 8, 2025. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
“After the first game it felt like getting through the day. You don’t want to live like that where you’re up at night thinking about the next day,” he said.
Barney Lopez, Gio’s father, also criticized the way the program was run.
“The situation there — I’m not a Super Bowl champion, so I don’t know, but I don’t think it was handled in the best way for college football, for students and players,” he told ESPN. “It set my son back.”
Lopez is now on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He and redshirt freshman Steele Pizzella are listed on the depth chart.
The Jake Dickert-led program was 9-4 in 2025 and won Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Rob Ezell is the team’s offensive coordinator.
Wake Forest opens the season on Sept. 3 against the Akron Zips.
North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick watches the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California on October 17, 2025. (Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
North Carolina general manager Mike Lomdardi defended Belichick from critics in March.
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“All through the stormy times, all through the capsizing, people attacking us with false rumors and false stories all over the place — no one has corrected them yet, but that’s OK, we understand — our players stuck together,” Lombardi said on the “Pat McAfee Show” last month.
