Gio Lopez enters the transfer portal
North Carolina is coming off a disappointing 4-8 season. Now, Bill Belichick is looking to overhaul the offense, firing Freddie Kitchens and bringing in Bobby Petrino to lead the offense. North Carolina brought in Billy Edwards Jr. from Wisconsin in an effort to change the offense. In response to the move to bring in a new quarterback, one of the current Tar Heels hit back College football transfer portal.
It will be Gio Lopez, who started 11 games for North Carolina in 2025 entering the transfer portalaccording to Pete Nakos of On3Sports.
Lopez was originally expected to stay in North Carolinabut has now changed his mind by adding Edwards to the roster. Lopez hasn’t been great offensively this year. He passed for just 1,747 yards in 11 games with ten touchdowns. The quarterback also threw five interceptions and was sacked 20 times. He ran for 133 yards and scored three times on the campaign.
Lopez graduated from South Alabama High School for the 2023 season, appearing in five games with one start. One start was the 2023 68 Ventures Bowl, which allowed him to keep his redshirt and a year of eligibility. He then started 11 games in 2024, passing for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 465 yards and finding the end zone seven times. The former Tar Heel will now be looking for his third school in three years and has two years remaining.
North Carolina is expected to bring in more quarterbacks, but with Bryce Baker and Max Johnson also on the roster, Edwards has a clear path to becoming UNC’s starter. Edwards started just two games with Wisconsin before going down with an injury. The former Badger began his career at Wake Forest in 2021 without seeing action and took a redshirt year. He would then transfer to Maryland for the next three seasons.
Edwards was granted a sixth year of NCAA eligibility, giving Edwards a medical redshirt season. In his best season at Maryland, Edwards passed for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns, which would be an upgrade for the North Carolina offense.
2026-01-05 19:15:00
