UNC's New QB1, Basketball Practice Video, 5-Star Hoops Visitors, Travis Burgess Injury
Plus: Ben Griffin's Amazing Year, Tar Heels Make NFL Rosters, Kayla McPherson Retires, Poll Time, and a Soccer Double Header
Sophomore Gio Lopez has been named the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback, UNC Basketball hosts two 5-star recruits this weekend, almost two dozen Tar Heels made NFL rosters, QB commit Travis Burgess suffers season-ending injury, and former UNC All-American golfer Ben Griffin has had a dream 2025. Now, on to the updates…
Football
Gio Lopez has been named the starting quarterback for UNC Football’s season-opener against TCU on Monday night. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering Lopez was hand-picked by Belichick and Co. out of the transfer portal, Lopez represented the Tar Heels at this year’s ACC Kickoff event, and presumed backup Max Johnson is coming off a serious leg injury.
On the opposing sideline, TCU quarterback Josh Hoover completed 66% of his passes for a school-record 3,949 yards, including 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. Here’s more on the potent Horned Frogs offensive attack from Sports Illustrated’s Grant Chachere.
In other personnel matters, Bill Belichick is not the only secretive coach entering Monday night’s primetime matchup. TCU put out a depth chart that looks like this 😂
And even though we only get a limited view inside Belichick’s program, there’s some great content being produced, like “The Come Up” video series. Here’s episode 2: “The Why.”
NFL teams finalized their 53-player rosters on Tuesday, and several notable Tar Heels did not make the cut:
Running back Michael Carter was released by the Cardinals.
Linebacker Chazz Surratt is out in San Francisco.
Tight end Bryson Nesbit was let go by Minnesota.
Linebacker Amari Gainer was released by the Raiders
Wide receiver Nate McCollum was released by the Cardinals
Linebacker Tomon Fox was cut from the Giants.
Offensive lineman Willie Lampkin was released by the Rams during final cuts (after being featured as PFF’s highest-graded rookie offensive lineman of the preseason). But the Eagles were smart enough to claim him off waivers on Wednesday to see what he can offer once he returns from injury.
And defensive end Kaimon Rucker signed with the Baltimore Ravens practice squad Wednesday afternoon after not making the final 53-man roster.
There are now 20 Tar Heels in the NFL (22 if you count cornerbacks Storm Duck and Mike Hughes). Do we claim them as Tar Heels if they left for another school? I’m in need of an official policy on this, especially in the era of the transfer portal. Please help me out if you’ve got an opinion.
Football Recruiting
UNC quarterback commit Travis Burgess, the prize-jewel of the Tar Heels’ 2026 football recruiting class, suffered a season-ending injury on Friday night and sent a message to fans on social media. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, calls, and messages— it truly means the world to me…
Playing under the Friday night lights at Grayson these past two years has been the experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately, due to the injury I suffered last Friday, I won’t be able to finish out the season with my brothers on the field.
This is just the start of my journey. I look forward to recovery, and I’m excited for the next chapter at UNC. Thank you again for all the love and support! Much love, TB.
Basketball
We’ve got some actual on-court basketball to discuss with UNC’s release of a few practice pictures and video clips on Tuesday.
There’s video of Luka Bogavac going coast-to-coast, behind the back, and hitting a pull-up three, Henri Veesaar taking it strong to the hoop against Ivan Matlekovic, Isaiah Denis with the backdoor cut, a Kyan Evans look-ahead outlet pass to Seth Trimble for the dunk, and some crisp new practice uniforms with navy(!) pants. Check out the Instagram pics and videos by clicking the image below. I believe I spotted Luke Maye in a white practice jersey lurking in the background of one of those photos as well.
On a related note, is it just my imagination or are we seeing more navy blue around the UNC athletic program this year? There was a push in recent years to stick with traditional Carolina Blue, but navy seems to be having another moment. The end zone padding in Kenan Stadium is also navy this year.
And if you want more Luka highlights, RL Bynum at Tar Heel Tribune has compiled highlights from Luka Bogavac’s best 3 games playing for SC Derby in Montenegro.
Freshman Caleb Wilson wasn’t featured in UNC’s practice content, but his trainer put out an incredible workout video of the 5-star forward:
Point guard Kyan Evans showed impressive development last season at Colorado State. The Rams started the season 5-5 before Evans took over as the starter. They went 21-5 the rest of the season. Andrew Jones from TarHeel247 broke down those numbers and examined his development.
In addition to on-court duties, several Tar Heel players got a head start on their coaching careers during the recent UNC Basketball fantasy camp. I just pulled a hamstring thinking about running with those guys. Click below for the photo gallery:
All of this basketball talent comes at a much higher cost than it used to. This season’s Tar Heel roster reportedly cost $14-million to assemble.
Basketball Recruiting
It’s another huge basketball recruiting weekend in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels host official visits from 5-star point guard Deron Rippey, Jr. and 5-star power forward Toni Bryant.
Rippey has scheduled official visits to all 12(!) of his finalists…that might be a record. He may not make them all, but at least he’ll make it to Chapel Hill. Here’s his complete visit schedule.
And after visiting UNC last weekend, 5-star wing Anthony Thompson is visiting home-state Ohio State this weekend.
David Sisk at TarHeel247 has compiled a comprehensive list of all the basketball recruiting visits taking place this weekend in the ACC.
Women’s Basketball
In Women’s Basketball news, point guard Kayla McPherson is retiring from basketball due to injuries (and 6 surgeries) but will remain with the program as a student assistant this season.
And while one Tar Heel’s playing career comes to an unfortunate end, another seems set for a promising start. Freshman wing Nyla Brooks has brought her 5-star credentials to Chapel Hill, and she’s listed among the nation’s top freshmen to start the season.
Olympic Sports
UNC men’s and women’s soccer are both in action Thursday night with the women (2-2) hosting UNC Greensboro at 4:00 and the men (2-0) hosting Evansville at 7:30.
That means back-to-back games at Dorrance Field and some overtime for the Tar Heels Turf crew, who does an amazing job making UNC’s athletic fields among the best in the nation. Follow Tar Heels Turf and UNC Director of Athletic Grounds and Turf Management Ryan Anderson on X (Twitter), and maybe you’ll pick up some tips on maintaining your own high-traffic lawn.
Carolina Field Hockey is No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. They’ve started 9(!) consecutive seasons in the top 2, which is an incredible run. They open the season Friday, Aug. 29 against No. 7 Michigan.
Speaking of incredible runs, former UNC men’s golf All-America and Chapel Hill native Ben Griffin is having quite a year. So far in 2025, he’s…
Won twice on the PGA TOUR
Recorded two top-10 finishes in majors
Finished top-10 in the TOUR Championship
Earned nearly $10 million
Named to the 2025 Ryder Cup team on Wednesday.
…and it’s only August. Not too shabby for a guy who quit golf in 2021 to become a mortgage loan officer.
Poll
UNC Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham and Chancellor Lee Roberts certainly have been making the case for a new basketball arena. The proposed “Carolina North” arena venue is at the site of the old Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill. Here’s a link to the site on Google Maps if you’re interested. Which brings us to our poll question…
Tar Heel Tidbits
And in “not-so-Carolina” news, did you know that two-time Super Bowl champion and seven-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce was almost a Tar Heel?
I only bring this up because he’s in the news again this week following his engagement to Taylor Swift, and it was the first I’d ever heard about it (his recruitment, not the engagement…that’s everywhere). Apparently, former UNC linebacker and assistant coach Tommy Thigpen almost recruited him to Chapel Hill in 2008.
"It came down to if I went the football route (instead of basketball), I was going to go to Cincinnati or UNC. Coach (Tommy) Thigpen. I was almost down there as a Tar Heel." — Travis Kelce
Thigpen is now linebackers coach for the UFL’s Arlington Renegades after leaving UNC as part of Mack Brown’s staff.
Final Thoughts
As a reminder, this newsletter will remain free through the end of August, giving you a chance to see what it’s all about while giving me time to dial in the content that’s most valuable to you. Starting Labor Day, it will switch to a paid model: $5/month or $50/year, with a 1-week free trial you can cancel anytime.
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Go Heels, and a sincere thank you to the many of our over 1,300 subscribers who have already become paid supporters.
James