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Heel Tough Blog: Virginia Preview
Thien-An Troung- Getty Images The Tar Heels return to Kenan Stadium on Saturday afternoon still searching for the first win of the Bill Belichick era over a power conference opponent as they take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the latest rendition of the South’s Oldest Rivalry. Here’s a look at everything that you need to know for a game that could go a long way in getting this season turned around. Team Breakdowns Tar Heels The Tar Heels are coming off their best performance o

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 25, 20257 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Set to Host Penn State CB Decommit This Weekend
@im__jules- Instagram The Tar Heels have been looking to capitalize on the firing of multiple head coaches from around the country and one of those targets that they are working hard to flip is officially back on the board. 2026 3✮ CB Julian Peterson announced on Wednesday afternoon that he was decommitting from Penn State after James Franklin was dismissed from his head coaching role by the program last week. Peterson had been committed to the Nittany Lions since late Januar

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 23, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel TE No Longer With Program
@double8._- Instagram For the third time in the last 24 hours, the Tar Heels have had a player walk away from the program midseason. As first reported by Inside Carolina, true freshman tight end Yasir Smith is no longer with the program. Smith, who joined the team as a defensive end back in the summer, signed with the Tar Heels on National Signing Day after receiving a late offer in February. Smith, the No. 1738 overall prospect and the No. 189 defensive line prospect in the

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 22, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: UNC Reinstates CB Coach
@ballhawk_8- Instagram After what appeared to be a two week suspension, Tar Heels cornerback coach Armond Hawkins has been reinstated according to head coach Bill Belichick. “Yeah, he’s back,” said Belichick on Tuesday morning during his weekly press conference. “The university cleared him. They went through their process with him and he’s back.” Belichick was also asked by the media if he thought he had done enough education and educating everybody about the rules and NCAA r

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 21, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Former Starting OT Leaves Team
@williamboone_ - Twitter For the third time today, the Tar Heels have had a member of their team step away midseason. As first reported by TarHeel247, junior offensive tackle William Boone is no longer with the team as of Tuesday evening. Per his agent, Austin Pfenniger, Boone is pursuing a medical redshirt for this season and should be 100% for spring practice. Boone, who transferred in back in the winter portal, is at least done for the season after playing in the first th

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 21, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Major Member of Tar Heel Defense No Longer With Team
@pryceyates- Instagram The Tar Heels have suffered some defections from the team in-season, but none is as big as the one they just suffered. According to a report from Inside Carolina, major offseason acquisition Pryce Yates is no longer with the program due to an injury situation. Yates, who was active for the Clemson game and finished with three total tackles, 0.5 a tackle for loss and one quarterback pressure, missed the first four games of the season with a concussion a

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 21, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels to Host Florida OT Commit This Weekend for OV
@cbfw_50_- Instagram The Tar Heels may have 37 commits in their 2026 class, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to flip some prospects from the schools that have already fired their head coach. The latest name to pop onto the radar for the Tar Heels is Florida commit Tyler Chukuyem, who told Rivals reporter Hadyn Hollin on Sunday evening that he will be officially visiting Chapel Hill this weekend for the team’s matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers. Chukuyem, a 4✮ OT pros

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 21, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: California Recap
ESPN The Tar Heels returned to the field on Friday night after a second bye week filled with a host of negative off-the-field storylines. With questions surrounding this group and how they would respond, the team put together their best performance against a power conference team this season in a 21-18 loss to the California Golden Bears. Here are our biggest takeaways from what we saw in the loss in Berkeley. Two Fumbles Were the Difference In the Game The Tar Heels had two

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 18, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: California Preview
Lance King- Getty Images The Tar Heels head to the West Coast on Friday night as they face the California Golden Bears looking to turn their season in the right direction. Here is everything you need to know for the late night matchup with one of the ACC’s most confusing teams so far this year. Team Breakdowns Tar Heels The team needs to show some signs of life against Power 4 competition and this will be one of their best chances to do that the rest of the season. The team a

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 17, 20256 min read


Heel Tough Blog: UNC Confirms Michael Lombardi's Trip to Saudi Arabia
Tar Heel Tribune It may have seemed like an Onion headline but, as the university confirmed on Thursday, it is real. The Tar Heels are looking to the Saudi Arabian government and its Public Investment Fund for help to raise money for the football program. As first reported by Pablo Torre and later confirmed by Brendan Marks and Christopher Kamrani of the Athletic, Tar Heel general manager Michael Lombardi took a trip overseas to Saudi Arabia back in mid-August to gauge the in

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 16, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Availability Report - California
After a second bye week in three weeks, the Tar Heels are on their way out west to take on California in an ACC contest, set for tomorrow night, at 10:30 PM on ESPN. Carolina has only played once in the past 27 days, a blowout loss to Clemson, despite Bill Belichick’s insistence that his team is improving. The good news about the time off is that it allowed for some players to get healthy, heading into the back half of the season, where Carolina will play seven straight games

Joshua Marlow
Oct 16, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: 2025 Midseason Grades
The Tar Heels sit here in the midst of their second bye week of the 2025 season searching for answers. Following last week’s buzz around possibly moving on from head coach Bill Belichick, there is even a question about how long this experiment may last. With it expected to at least last till the end of the season, it is time to turn the attention back to the current season on the field where the team is struggling mightily. Here’s a look at our grades for each unit on this te

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 16, 202512 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Flip 2026 4✮ CB from Miami
@5star_tre- Instagram After suffering a big decommitment earlier in the day in the 2027 class, the Tar Heels have completed a major flip on the 2026 recruiting trail. As he announced via social media, 2026 4✮ CB Kenton Dopson has flipped his commitment from Miami to UNC. The flip comes after Dopson took a visit to campus during the Richmond game following an offer from the Tar Heels back in August. Last month, he announced that he was officially reclassifying to the 2026 clas

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 15, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Commitment from 2027 4✮ RB
@am1rbrown- Instagram The Tar Heels have done a good job of holding on to commitments on the recruiting trail amidst the rough start to the 2025 season, but on Wednesday, the team lost its top commit in the 2027 recruiting class. As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, 2027 4✮ RB Amir Brown has decommitted from the Tar Heels. The decommitment comes ahead of his scheduled visit to Notre Dame for their game with USC on Saturday night. His decommitment comes in the middle

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 15, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Bill Belichick Calls Rumors of Him Looking to Leave "Categorically False"
Inside Carolina Monday was the first time that Bill Belichick, the head coach of the Tar Heels, met with the media following a crazy week of speculation about his job status and future with the program. In his opening comments, Belichick put to rest any reports that he had been looking to leave for another job or a soft landing in television. “I’ll just start with right off the bat, some of the reports out last week about me looking for a buyout and trying to leave here, all

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 13, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Veteran RB Medically Retires After 5 Seasons With the UNC Program
Getty Images After seeing a handful of players exit the program earlier this season, the UNC football roster took another hit earlier...

Joshua Marlow
Oct 10, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Reports Now Say Exit Discussions With Belichick Never Happened
Lance King- Getty Images The Bill Belichick saga has been one of the craziest we have seen in the history of sports and we have our...

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 9, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Statements Issued by Belichick and Cunningham Amidst Growing Speculation
Lance King- Getty Images After a day filled with reports and speculation on the job status of Bill Belichick, the head coach and athletic...

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 8, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: "Preliminary Conversations" Have Been Had About Bill Belichick Exit Strategy
Fox Sports The Bill Belichick experiment was one of the biggest spectacles in the history of college football and it may not even last a...

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 8, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Star CB for Extended Period of Time
@thed0cta44- Instagram The bad news for the Tar Heel football program just continues to pour in. According to a report from Inside...

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 8, 20251 min read
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