Heel Tough Blog: 2025 Breakout Players
- Anthony Pagnotta
- 26 minutes ago
- 5 min read
The Tar Heels kick off their 2025 season next Monday in Kenan Stadium as they face the TCU Horned Frogs. Before we jump into the season, though, it’s time to look at the players that we expect to have breakout seasons this year for the team.
Anthony
Jordan Shipp
Shipp probably sits at the top of everyone’s breakout player list and for good reason. From all indications, Shipp has taken a huge step forward this offseason both as a leader and with his on-field play and will be looked at as one of the primary receiving threats on this team. He may have finished last season with just nine passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, but he flashed his potential to affect the game at multiple levels when he was on the field. Expect Shipp to be a guy that Gio Lopez relies on heavily right out of the gate and to eventually lead this team in receiving this year and reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark.
Davion Gause
The Tar Heels have the impossible task of replacing Omarion Hampton this season at running back, but Gause was a guy that flashed last season. He ran for 326 yards and four touchdowns on just 67 carries, including a huge performance against Charlotte in place of Hampton. This season, he might be splitting carries, but he will be the leader in the room and should produce like it. Expect him to be pushing for All-ACC honors in a season where he should reach 850 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground.
Will Hardy
Hardy is another one of those veterans on the defensive side of the ball that looks like he has taken a major step forward this season. We have seen him quickly gain the trust of this new staff and become a leader on the field for the team in the footage that we have seen of him in ‘The Come Up’ series on Twitter. After playing limited snaps a year ago, expect Hardy to be one of the more productive players on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Smith Vilbert
Vilbert was one of the biggest additions that the Tar Heels made this offseason and he is looking to break out after being buried on the depth chart at Penn State. From all indications, he has looked the part in fall camp and has seemed to build on the flashes that he showed at his previous stop where he had 12 total tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Expect him to at least double those numbers, if not triple them this season with him playing more snaps for the Tar Heels.
D’Antre Robinson
Robinson was another transfer portal gem that the Tar Heels added this spring and expectations are high for him. Last year, in just 162 snaps on defense, he finished the season with 17 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two total quarterback hurries. This season, he will be asked to play a significant amount of reps for this team and with his talent and physicality, expect to see Robinson become a force in the middle of that defensive line.
Josh
Gio Lopez
If Carolina is going to win the 10 games that I have them predicted to win, they’ll need Gio Lopez to establish himself as a difference maker at the QB position. There is a lot of concern around him making the transition from the Group of 5 level to the ACC, but the film is there to believe he can be a quality starter in Freddie Kitchens’s system. His ability to use his legs will be something that’ll be utilized early and often, and he’s poised to put up rushing numbers similar to what Marquise Williams posted back in 2015. With me listing him as a potential breakout player for UNC, I’m expecting him to total over 3,500 yards of total offense and score over 30 touchdowns.
Jordan Shipp
The player I’m most confident to breakout in 2025 is rising sophomore receiver Jordan Shipp, who has stardom written all over him. There are questions about the receiving core this year for sure, but Shipp is the most physically gifted receiver on the roster, and that will help him emerge as the top target for Gio Lopez starting next Monday night against TCU. His arrival on the scene might mirror how Josh Downs broke out during his sophomore season, meaning that totaling 80 catches and over 1,000 yards is very much attainable for Shipp, who is motivated to get his team to his hometown of Charlotte and play for a conference championship.
Davion Gause
Another offensive player set to emerge is running back Davion Gause, who is tasked with following in the footsteps of the departed Omarion Hampton, who was a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Chargers. For as much as the roster has been turned over since Bill Belichick was hired, the running back didn’t need much overhaul, and that's a testament to the talent that Mack Brown left behind. With the strength of the offense expected to be on the ground, Gause will be featured early and often, and he’s poised to top the 800-yard rushing mark, in addition to how many times he scores a touchdown. While Louisville may have the best back in the conference, expect Gause to garner All-ACC honors at the end of the season.
Khmori House
Thaddeus Dixon gets a lot of the attention as a defensive transfer coming over from Washington, but don’t sleep on linebacker Khmouri House, who is expected to see the most playing time of his career. Even with an expected rotation at the linebacker spot, House is set to play the most snaps of his young career. His familiarity with the system gives him a head start over some of the other transfer linebackers, even Boise State transfer Andrew Simpson. Him recording over 60 tackles, with multiple tackles for loss, isn’t out of the question.
Will Hardy
There isn’t a player I’ve become a big fan of this off-season, than Will Hardy, who has emerged as a leader for the team. What he lacks in talent and skill will be corrected by better coaching and honing in on his fundamentals. This team needs a reliable tackler on the backend and someone who can make plays on the football, and Hardy is capable of doing both. Remember how reliable Donnie Miles was in the late 2010s? Hardy can be that type of player, and if that’s the case, that’ll be a welcomed sight for the Tar Heel defense.