Bill Belichick’s relationship with his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, fueled headlines and social media speculation for months, but inside the walls of the UNC football program, players say the outside noise has had no bearing on their focus.
Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Shipp dismissed the buzz entirely at ACC Media Days in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, according to ESPN.
“Social media can promote some narrative, but that was not a distraction to us at all,” Shipp said. “There was never a problem, like people saying she was running practice. We’d never really see her in the building. That was never a problem.”
To Shipp, the situation was more misunderstood than anything else.
“If anything, I feel like it’s not a distraction because it’s always good to have somebody in your corner in the building, just knowing they support us,” Shipp said. “We support Coach B no matter what he’s doing. We’re behind him 100%. Whatever stuff is in the news drug on more than it really was. It was never a distraction, never an issue, never a problem.”
Quarterback Gio Lopez, a transfer from South Alabama, echoed that sentiment. While he admitted the attention around Belichick was new, the coach himself has never acted like anything other than what he is.
“I log on my phone and see something about Coach Belichick, so it is different, of course,” said Lopez. “But you’d never think that about him. He’s a normal guy, a normal coach. That’s how he carries himself. He’s very personable, not worried about the spotlight. He just does his job.”
UNC has had a major roster overhaul, with 70 new players — including nearly 30 added after spring practice — and plenty of questions surrounding how Belichick’s decades of NFL experience will translate to the college game.
The Tar Heels face a challenging schedule that includes TCU in the season opener on Sept. 1, along with matchups against ACC foes Clemson and NC State.
Analysts remain skeptical about just how well this will go, but one thing is clear: if the season doesn’t live up to the hype, no one inside the locker room will be blaming Belichick’s personal life.
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