Representatives from the UNC football program spoke at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte Thursday afternoon. Head coach Bill Belichick was joined at the podium by receiver Jordan Shipp and defensive backs Will Hardy and Thad Dixon.
Read highlights from each of the speakers below:
Will Hardy
Image via UNC Athletic Communications
On how Belichick has helped the players grow off the field: Coach Belichick has brought former players to talk to us just about what else is there outside of just football. It takes a lot to be a great football player, and that’s not just on-the-field stuff, that’s nutrition, that’s sleep, that is recovery. We’re all going to end football at some point, so how can you pour all that investment into something else, whether you’re a dad, whether you’re a spouse, whatever it is, how can you pour everything into a relationship, so we’ve learned that. He’s brought many guys, former players to come and speak on that.
On his leadership style with the other defensive backs: We’ve got a competitive group of guys, especially in the defensive back room. Everyone wants to improve themselves and just build a unit. As a leader for that unit, it’s been important for me to be an encourager. We have some hard days, maybe some days where we didn’t practice as well as we wanted to or some hard workouts that are tough to get through. Being a guy that people can know that they’ll get some encouragement from, it’s important for me. I think leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, but being someone that people can count on and can trust, that’s important for me.
Thad Dixon
On what fans can expect from the Tar Heels: You can expect a tough, smart, dependable team, a team that communicates a lot, a team that’s well put together, well driven, a team with a chip on their shoulder. Honestly, everybody’s got something to prove. Everybody is trying to get somewhere. That’s what you can expect out of us.
On what it’s like learning from Belichick: It’s special. It’s been a lot of great cornerbacks that Coach Belichick has coached. Dudes like Ty Law, Darrelle Revis. To just try to be a part of that pedigree, it’s honestly special. It’s something I look forward to every day, just getting better every day, and hopefully my name can be with those guys’ names.
On his advice to players who haven’t played on a big stage: Football is going to be football, no matter how big the stage is. You’ve still got to go out there and play. I would just tell the young guys, don’t look at it no different than what it is. It’s just another game you’ve got to go out there and perform.
Jordan Shipp
On the return of veteran Kobe Paysour and his importance to the receiving corps: We have a young receiving room and Kobe brings experience. Kobe is a great player. Kobe is a great friend. I feel like that’s something that gets overlooked. When you’re in a room, you just want to be surrounded by great people, and Kobe is a great guy. Kobe is a great person. Kobe is somebody that I know I can rely on off the field and on the field as well. Kobe, J.J. [Jones] and Nate [McCollum], last year they really took me under their wing and helped mold me into the college athlete I wanted to be and set the foundation for me, so just being able to still have him, me still being able to look up to him and shadow him a little bit, that’s definitely important.
On how the offense will look under Belichick and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens: We’re definitely going to be a unique offense. Don’t want to give too much out, but we’re going to be unique. We’re going to do a lot of different stuff, and we’re going to get a lot of 1st downs, going to score a lot of points. Coach Belichick, he kept [Kitchens] here for a reason, so obviously he liked what he was doing, so there’s no reason not to trust him 100 percent. But like I said, we’re going to be unique, we’re going to move the ball, we’re going to do different things with different personnels and a lot of different people.
Bill Belichick
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick speaks during an NCAA college football press conference, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
On how the team has practiced during his tenure: I’ve been super impressed with the way our players have competed. They’ve worked really hard. I think they’re in good condition. They’ve hit a lot of personal high marks, whether it be strength, speed, explosion, different measurements that we’ve taken through the course of training, beginning through the end, and looking back on their career from previous training years, these guys have really worked hard and they have a lot to show for it.
On what defines a “Carolina player:” A Carolina player is a player who wants to be a good football player, who wants to work hard, to wants to make a commitment towards improving on a regular basis, towards training and team execution on the field. So when we get those players, we see a lot of improvement, a lot of development.
On his relationship with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney: Dabo has been a friend for a long time. We’ve scouted his players from the NFL down. Some of the players that are here today, I actually thought, “Maybe we’ll be drafting one of these guys,” and now here we are going to be playing against them. But Dabo has been great. I have so much respect for him and the Clemson program, what he’s done, the way he runs it. It’s high quality. The kids are high quality.
I think that says a lot for the program that he runs and what he’s done for not only college football but all the student-athletes that he’s coached there. They’ve gone on to represent him and the school very well. Again, I have a ton of respect for Dabo and what he’s done. Great opportunity to spend some time with him at the ACC coaches’ meetings, and he’s always been a really enjoyable guy to be around. I don’t know if that’ll be true on Saturday afternoon. Probably not. But at least in these meetings it is.
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