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North Carolina Tar Heels football has been a trending topic, for all the wrong reasons, this past entire week. It all started with the disastrous Bill Belichick interview on 60 Minutes, and how his girlfriend/handler Jordon Hudson railroaded it. Since that segment aired, and the behind-the-scenes footage was leaked, the focus of discussion shifted to Hudson, and how much power she really has over Belichick, and thus, the UNC football program itself. Getting into the backstory of Hudson and Belichick makes for compelling copy, as it truly is a complicated, multi-layered situation.
And while those story angles are receiving abundant media coverage, no one is really talking about Bill Belichick on a strictly football level right now. Regarded by many to be the G.O.A.T. it's hard to think of him as anything except a New England Patriot. Yet here he is coaching not in the NFL, but in college. And he's at a basketball school too.
The Los Angeles Chargers selected Omarion Hampton out of North Carolina with the 22nd overall pick in last weekend's NFL Draft. While he won't get the chance to play under Belichick in Chapel Hill, he probably would have been the perfect fit for his system. Hampton is the kind of back that can truly carry the mail, and it's these types of featured backs that have flourished on Belichick led teams over the years.
While Hampton isn't in Carolina himself right now, his former teammates have been filling him in on how the program has transitioned from Mack Brown to the Patriots legend.
“I feel like it’s kind of just two different things,” Hampton said when comparing Brown and Belichick, during his appearance on Unbuttoned with Chris Simms. “Both have their pros, both have their cons.
"So, I feel like just being there now, I feel like the players like it. It’s a lot more like – I heard they like – tackle every day. I feel like it’s a lot more work, harder work and stuff like that, but I feel like overall that’s going to get them uh better prepared for the game because that’s what you’re going to be doing in the game.”
From what it sounds like, Tar Heels football practices are becoming more physical and hard-nosed. And at this point UNC leadership must be hoping that people will start talking about actual sports, and not the specifics of the Belichick-Hudson relationship, when their athletic programs are brought up.
North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham has to know what he's doing, with this situation. And as North Carolina is a basketball school, you can take testimony from the top rated Tar Heel in this year's NBA Draft class.
“This is a family atmosphere," former Carolina wing and NBA Draft Combine invite Drake Powell said in an exclusive with RG.org. "That was big when I made my decision, and I know I made the right one by coming to North Carolina."
It's very likely that Powell will join Hampton in becoming a first-round draft pick in his respective sport. When a school has a first round draft pick in both revenue-producing sports in the same year- that's always an accomplishment. So despite all the Belichick drama, controversy and noise (the situation even made SNL's cold open this weekend), remember that UNC athletics deserves the benefit of the doubt.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Omarion Hampton on how UNC football is changing under Bill Belichick
Continue reading...
And while those story angles are receiving abundant media coverage, no one is really talking about Bill Belichick on a strictly football level right now. Regarded by many to be the G.O.A.T. it's hard to think of him as anything except a New England Patriot. Yet here he is coaching not in the NFL, but in college. And he's at a basketball school too.
The Los Angeles Chargers selected Omarion Hampton out of North Carolina with the 22nd overall pick in last weekend's NFL Draft. While he won't get the chance to play under Belichick in Chapel Hill, he probably would have been the perfect fit for his system. Hampton is the kind of back that can truly carry the mail, and it's these types of featured backs that have flourished on Belichick led teams over the years.
While Hampton isn't in Carolina himself right now, his former teammates have been filling him in on how the program has transitioned from Mack Brown to the Patriots legend.
“I feel like it’s kind of just two different things,” Hampton said when comparing Brown and Belichick, during his appearance on Unbuttoned with Chris Simms. “Both have their pros, both have their cons.
"So, I feel like just being there now, I feel like the players like it. It’s a lot more like – I heard they like – tackle every day. I feel like it’s a lot more work, harder work and stuff like that, but I feel like overall that’s going to get them uh better prepared for the game because that’s what you’re going to be doing in the game.”
From what it sounds like, Tar Heels football practices are becoming more physical and hard-nosed. And at this point UNC leadership must be hoping that people will start talking about actual sports, and not the specifics of the Belichick-Hudson relationship, when their athletic programs are brought up.
North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham has to know what he's doing, with this situation. And as North Carolina is a basketball school, you can take testimony from the top rated Tar Heel in this year's NBA Draft class.
“This is a family atmosphere," former Carolina wing and NBA Draft Combine invite Drake Powell said in an exclusive with RG.org. "That was big when I made my decision, and I know I made the right one by coming to North Carolina."
It's very likely that Powell will join Hampton in becoming a first-round draft pick in his respective sport. When a school has a first round draft pick in both revenue-producing sports in the same year- that's always an accomplishment. So despite all the Belichick drama, controversy and noise (the situation even made SNL's cold open this weekend), remember that UNC athletics deserves the benefit of the doubt.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Omarion Hampton on how UNC football is changing under Bill Belichick
Continue reading...
