ABC11 As first reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN, Tar Heel general manager Michael Lombardi has resigned from his job in the midst of an ongoing internal investigation into him by the school. In a statement that was released by the school, they said “Michael Lombardi has resigned from his position as General Manager of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s football program. The University will continue its ongoing investigation and will consider all appropriate corr

ABC11 There has been much information on Steve Belichick and his situation since it was announced that he was taking a medical leave, but his status for the opener seems to have been determined. According to a report from On3 Sports and Inside Carolina, the Tar Heels second year coordinator is not expected to be on the sideline in Dublin on Saturday as the team takes on TCU. The younger Belichick has been on medical leave from the team since August 6 and there have been no up

UNC Athletics On Monday morning, the Tar Heels officially named their captains for the 2026 season. The group of seven contains senior edge rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude, senior cornerback Kaleb Cost, junior running back Benjamin Hall, senior Isaiah Johnson, graduate center Christo Kelly, graduate linebacker Derek McDonald and junior wide receiver Jordan Shipp. In 646 snaps a year ago, Abou Jaoude tallied 47 total tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and 42 total quarterba

@uncfootball- Twitter After being declared eligible to play in 2026 earlier this month, Tar Heel fifth-year kicker Rece Verhoff is currently ineligible. His eligibility status flipped on Friday after the Tenth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals granted the NCAA’s stay request in the Wisne vs. NCAA case in the state of Colorado. Now, in order to be deemed eligible, Verhoff and others that were apart of that case will have to head to other states in search of temporary injuncti

@uncfootball- Instagram After a long and well-fought battle to be the starting QB for the Tar Heels against TCU next Saturday, Bill Belichick has named Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr as the starting QB for Carolina according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Edwards won the job over Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill, who had a previous relationship with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who in part recruited O’Neill to College Station. Bill Belichick opted to revamp the QB r

Jim Dedmon- Imagn Images After being absent for the first day of fall practice last week, it was revealed on Thursday that Tar Heel defensive coordinator Steve Belichick will be on an indefinite leave of absence from the team. As his father, Bill, announced at the beginning of his presser earlier today, Belichick is currently away from the program due to medical reasons and there is no timetable for his return. When asked further about the situation, Bill said that he hopes t

@UNCFootball- Twitter For a second straight day, a Tar Heel has landed on a preseason award watch list for this season. On Wednesday, the John Mackey Award committee announced their watch list for the 2026 season and the Tar Heels junior tight end Jelani Thurman was amongst those mentioned. Thurman, who transferred from Ohio State earlier this offseason, comes to Chapel Hill following a solid career as a backup for the Buckeyes in the first three years at the college level. I

@UNCFootball- Twitter With the injunction in Colorado from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney last Friday, members of the 2022 class are receiving an extra year of eligibility in all sports. On Wednesday, the program announced that they will be taking advantage of this ruling to add a key weapon to this team this season. Placekicker Rece Verhoff will be returning to the Tar Heels for a second season after a productive 2025 season where he was an All-ACC honorable mention.

Jim Dedmon- Imagn Images After a relatively quiet offseason off the field as compared to last year, UNC announced in a release this morning that general manager Michael Lombardi has been placed on paid administrative leave, effective immediately. The decision does not come from the athletic department or the football program, but rather UNC Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Dean Stoyer. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the leave stems from a HR complaint by a

Jim Dedmon- Imagn Images On Friday, the Tar Heels made their yearly venture to ACC Kickoff in Charlotte as Coach Bill Belichick, defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude, center Christo Kelly and wide receiver Jordan Shipp spoke to the media throughout the day. While there may not be nearly as much buzz as there was last year around the head coach and the program as a whole, there were still plenty of storylines that cropped up throughout the day. Here’s a look at the most intriguin

@uncfootball- Instagram With the Tar Heels just 47 days away from kicking off the 2026 season in the Aer Lingus Classic against TCU, fall camp is just on the horizon. On Monday, the team announced when they will open training camp later this month. Per a release from the program earlier this afternoon, they will begin camp on Thursday, July 30th in Chapel Hill, which is 30 days from the opener. The team will begin camp with a mandatory seven-day period where they will not be

Western Carolina Athletics The quarterback battle for the Tar Heels is one of the big storylines of the offseason and on Friday morning, there was some important news surrounding it that became public. As first reported by Inside Carolina, Western Carolina quarterback transfer Taron Dickens will no longer attend UNC this fall and will re-enter the transfer portal. This move follows some rumors around his academic eligibility with the school that surfaced earlier in the offsea

Streeter Lecka- Getty Images On Friday afternoon, the Tar Heels released some important scheduling news about a future home-and-home matchup. In a release from the program earlier this afternoon, it was announced that the upcoming home-and-home series with the South Carolina Gamecocks has been canceled. The two teams were set to meet in Columbia in 2028 and Chapel Hill in 2029. According to reports from Noah Weiskopf of TarHeel247 and Shelby Swanson of the News & Observer, th

Gregory Fisher- Getty Images The Tar Heels concluded spring practice last month and we now have news that two players who participated during the month of practices have stepped away from the program. According to Inside Carolina, wide receiver Shanard Clower and cornerback Ty Adams are no longer with the program following the end of spring practice. Clower, who was preparing for his sophomore season with the program, is coming off a true freshman season where he played 83 of

Nicholas Faulkner- Getty Images 2026 is a special season for Tar Heel football as it is the 100th anniversary of their home stadium. On Wednesday evening, the Tar Heels announced how they will be honoring that this season in a variety of different ways. A logo for the 100th anniversary was debuted earlier today and, according to a release from the program, will be available on merchandise and other commemorative items. This is a really nice touch from the program and will cer

@UNCFootball- Twitter The Tar Heels have been looking to make a hire at tight end coach after the firing of offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens earlier this summer. It appears that as of Sunday, the team has found a replacement for this job in the form of a guy that has been with the program since 2022. As first reported by Inside Carolina, offensive assistant Caleb Pickrell, who has been coaching the tight ends so far in spring practice, is officially lis

@ c.al varez__- Instagram The Tar Heels may be in the middle of spring practice, but the team has just added another offensive lineman who will be a part of the roster in 2026. As he announced via social media earlier this afternoon, 2026 3✮ IOL Cristian Alvarez has committed to UNC to participate in both football and wrestling. Alvarez had previously been committed to UMass, but flipped and signed with Delaware during the early signing window back in December. Back in late F

@reg_love07- Instagram On Tuesday morning, prior to the team taking the field for their first practice of the season, head coach Bill Belichick spoke with the media for the first time this year as he provided updates on where everything is with the Tar Heel football program. Among the things addressed in this presser was the fact that three Tar Heels who are officially enrolled and a part of the team will not be participating in spring practice. Belichick revealed in his open

@evan7bennett- Instagram With spring ball right around the corner, news has dropped that three players who were with the Tar Heels last season and didn’t enter the transfer portal this winter are no longer with the program. As first reported by Inside Carolina, linebacker Evan Bennett, tight end Cort Halsey and defensive lineman Laderion Williams are not a part of the Tar Heels roster for spring ball which is expected to begin on March 24th according to On3 Sports. Bennett, a

Western Carolina Athletics Following the additions of Kaleb Jackson and Brandon Homady, it appeared that the Tar Heels were done adding guys out of the portal. As we learned on Sunday morning, though, that is not the case. As first reported by Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, the Tar Heels have signed Western Carolina transfer quarterback Taron Dickens out of the portal. He is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining in Chapel Hill. Dickens, 5’11, 180 lbs., is coming off