University of North Carolina Athletics
November 10, 2026 | Football
The Tar Heel head coach described what he asks from his seven captains, who set the tone for the entire team.
There's no shortage of respected names Bill Belichick can mention when discussing former captains he's coached.Â
The UNC head coach specifically named former Pro Bowlers Tedy Bruschi and Devin McCourty Monday at the Tar Heels' weekly press conference, but others include Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour and Matthew Slater.Â
Belichick knows what strong leadership looks like, and he's seen it with this year's Tar Heel captains.Â
"I've had a lot of good captains. These guys are the type of group that I'm used to working with," he said.Â
Seven players (three on offense, four on defense) serve in the role for UNC: Christo Kelly, Benjamin Hall, Jordan Shipp, Derek McDonald, Kaleb Cost, Isaiah Johnson and Melkart Abou Jaoude.Â
Belichick has described how greater leadership this season is contributing to improved preparation and better on-field performance. While you don't need to be a captain to be a good leader, he said, his relationship and conversations with the captains are crucial to ensuring that the coaching staff and entire team are on the same page.Â
How are captains selected and what do they do?Â
Belichick doesn't hand-pick UNC's captains. The captaincy is voted on by Tar Heel players and coaches, who are asked to select players they think would best represent them.Â
It's not a popularity contest or a most valuable player selection. "It's based on those players' work ethic, commitment to the team, effort and just total dependability," Belichick said.Â
He meets with his captains at least once a week and wants an honest dialogue on what's going on with the team. Sometimes conversations are about football-specific topics like whether a position group has fully mastered a concept or if practice needs to be a bit lighter on a given day. At other points, discussions are about meals and travel arrangements or if anything in the team's facilities needs to be fixed.Â
"It can really be anything," he said.Â
Most importantly, Belichick asks his captains to represent the interests of their teammates, not their own.Â
"They give me good feedback," Belichick said. "I can't talk to every single player about what they think, but I can say, 'Hey Christo, how are we doing on the offensive line? What do you think?' And he can say, 'Well, I don't think we've got this right. Maybe we need a little more time.' OK, then we address that."Â
Captains are also responsible for modeling a good approach to the game for their teammates. Defensive end Melkart Abou Jaoude, whom linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins said "the whole defense looks up to," is someone who's received praise for doing that.Â
Abou Jaoude's leadership style might be quieter than others, but it's a kind that's easy for everyone to see. "Playing hard is something that I think guys look up to and they can feed off of," he said.Â
Kelly, a two-time UNC captain, said being selected for the captaincy is "a really special thing."Â
But "it's not just the captains" contributing to the Tar Heels' improved leadership, Kelly said.Â
One player who, while not a captain, has commanded respect from his teammates because of his leadership, toughness and resolve is starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who's thrown for 10 touchdowns and just one interception in his last four games.Â
"Billy's mentally tough. He, like any player, has had some ups and downs, but he's fought through it and works hard," Belichick said. "These guys that come out and work every day — that's really what it's about. You prepare and train, and you come out and practice and work hard every day. Your correct your mistakes and figure out what you need to do better and go out and work on it."Â
Carolina QuotableÂ
"He's such a tough dude. Early on in camp, the defensive linemen and linebackers didn't really like him because he was always trying to finish blocks. Coach (Will) Friend called him 'Mad Dog.'" — Christo Kelly on true freshman guard Cristian Alvarez, who's appeared in eight games and made six starts on the offensive line.Â
Three and out Â
A trio of additional notes from Monday's news conferenceÂ
1. A future coach at quarterbackÂ
Football is in Billy Edwards Jr.'s DNA. Â
He's the son of a coach, and his brother, Kyle Edwards, coaches tight ends at Richmond.Â
"From my early childhood, I've just always been around football," said Edwards, who's thrown three-plus touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time in his career.Â
It's no surprise that Edwards has that sort of background considering how often his coaches and teammates praise him for his preparation and smarts. It's also unsurprising that he knows what sort of line of work he wants to go into following his playing days.Â
"I will be coaching football for sure," Edwards said.Â
His position coach Matt Lombardi said Edwards functions as an extra graduate assistant. Belichick consistently credits him for putting the Tar Heel offense in the right play call, even when outsiders wouldn't know it. Kelly said Edwards' football IQ is "incredible."Â
"To have a guy like Billy, it's so fun to block for him," Kelly said. "What he does in the huddle ... there are so many small things. Just the way he calls the plays. You don't even think about it, but it's like 'All right, this guy has total command.'"Â
2. Red hot in the red zoneÂ
Edwards has played a key role in UNC's improved red zone efficiency. Each of his three TDs at Connecticut came deep in UConn territory.Â
The Tar Heels have been consistently great at scoring in the red zone — their 93.94% scoring percentage ranks 10th nationally — but players and coaches identified turning field goals into six points as a point of emphasis a few weeks back after losing to Syracuse.Â
In the two games since then, UNC has scored a TD on nine consecutive red zone trips and has scored on its last 13 trips overall (10 TDs).Â
Belichick said the team has devoted extra time to red-zone reps in practice, and it's paying off.Â
"It comes back to good execution by the players, and we've definitely improved that in both the running game and the passing game," he said. "Having a little balance down there helps."Â
3. Seelmann continuing to learn and excel at wide range of linebacking responsibilitiesÂ
Linebacker Peyton Seelmann, a junior transfer from Richmond, quickly impressed his teammates and coaches with his physicality, athleticism and effort.Â
As the season's gone on, he's also started to showcase his ability to master the multitude of roles linebackers in UNC's defense play, becoming a more versatile defensive asset.Â
Seelmann's range was on full display against UConn. In the win over the Huskies, Seelmann led the team with nine tackles, recorded three pass breakups and got to the quarterback twice, bringing his sack total to 4.5 on the season.Â
Belichick applauded Seelmann's ability to "broaden his responsibilities"Â Â
"His acclimation to a multiple defensive system has just gotten really better every week," Belichick said.Â
