# North Carolina Tar Heels

Atlantic Coast · Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
Head coach: Bill Belichick · year 2 · 4-8 career over 2 seasons, all at UNC
Offense: Pro Style · Defense: 4-2-5

## 2026 outlook

- 2025 record: 4-8 (2-6 in conference)
- National title odds: +125000 (#78 on the futures board)
- Season win total: 4.5 (over priced -106)
- Returning starter games: 33%
- Schedule difficulty: 12th-hardest of 138 FBS teams

## Returning production by unit

| Unit | Returning games | Games back | Depth back |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Skill offense | 50% | 34/68 | 6/16 |
| Offensive line | 11% | 5/46 | 6/15 |
| Defensive front | 29% | 24/84 | 9/18 |
| Secondary | 39% | 23/59 | 8/16 |

## Roster movement

- Key returning: Melkart Abou Jaoude (DL), Kaleb Cost (DB), Jaiden Patterson (DB), Greg Smith (DB), Jordan Shipp (WR)
- Key departures (with destination): Gio Lopez (QB) – WAKE, Malcolm Ziglar (SAF) – USF, Tyler Thompson (LB) – LOU, Andrew Simpson (LB), Jakai Moore (OL)
- Key arrivals (with previous school): Trech Kekahuna (WR) – WIS, Miles O'Neill (QB) – TXAM, Jordan Washington (TE) – TEX, Billy Edwards Jr. (QB) – WIS, Jelani Thurman (TE) – OSU

## Depth chart

### Offense

- WR-X: Jordan Shipp, Madrid Tucker, Kymistrii Young
- WR-Z: Mason Humphrey, Nathan Leacock, Carnell Warren
- WR-SL: Trech Kekahuna, Dayton Sneed, C.J. Sadler
- LT: Jordan Hall, Eidan Buchanan
- LG: Aidan Banfield, Jonah Rodriguez, Trey Blue
- C: Christo Kelly
- RG: Andrew Threatt, Rowan Byrne, Byron Nelson
- RT: Jacqawn McRoy, Brandon Homady
- TE: Jaxxon Warren, Shamar Easter, Jelani Thurman, Jordan Washington
- QB: Billy Edwards Jr., Miles O'Neill, Au'Tori Newkirk, Travis Burgess
- RB: Demon June, Benjamin Hall, Kaleb Jackson, Jaylen McGill

### Defense

- LDE: Donovan Hoilette Jr., Jaylen Harvey, Zavion Griffin-Haynes
- NT: Isaiah Johnson, Xavier Lewis, Vodney Cleveland
- DT: Leroy Jackson, Tarvorise Brown, Nicco Maggio
- RDE: Melkart Abou Jaoude, Joseph Mupoyi, David Jackson III
- WLB: Peyton Seelmann, Jonathan Agumadu, Jake Bauer, DQ Forkpa
- MLB: Derek McDonald, Timir Hickman-Collins, Daniel Anderson
- LCB: Jaiden Patterson, Jalon Thompson, Kenton Dopson III
- SS: Greg Smith, Javion Butts
- FS: Coleman Bryson, Peyton Waters, Jakob Weatherspoon
- RCB: Ade Willie, Reggie Love II, Jaziel Hart
- NB: Kaleb Cost, Tre Miller

### Special Teams

- PT: Jacob Horvath, Adam McCann-Gibbs
- PK: Aeron Burrell, David Green
- KO: Aeron Burrell, David Green
- LS: Gannon Burt
- H: Jacob Horvath, Adam McCann-Gibbs
- PR: Kaleb Cost
- KR: Jaylen McGill, Benjamin Hall

## 2026 schedule

| Week | Opponent | Site | TV | Spread |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | TCU | Away | ESPN | UNC +7.5 |
| 2 | East Tennessee State Buccaneers (FCS) | Home | ACC Network | – |
| 3 | Clemson | Away | ESPN | – |
| 5 | Notre Dame | Home | – | UNC +23.5 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh | Away | – | – |
| 7 | Duke | Away | – | – |
| 8 | Syracuse | Home | – | – |
| 9 | Miami (FL) | Home | – | – |
| 10 | UConn | Away | CBS Sports Network | – |
| 11 | Louisville | Home | – | – |
| 12 | Virginia | Away | – | – |
| 13 | NC State | Home | – | – |

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Source: SharpData OS – https://www.sharpdataos.com/cfb/teams/north-carolina
Depth chart updated 2026-08-11. Odds shown are point-in-time snapshots.