Quarterback Gio Lopez will wear a No. 7 jersey in the 2025 UNC football season, sticking with the same number he wore at South Alabama before joining Bill Belichick‘s Tar Heels in April.
Lopez is competing to be UNC’s starting quarterback, alongside veteran returner Max Johnson and freshman Bryce Baker, under offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens. He’s one of more than 70 newcomers for the new-look Tar Heels, who added 40 players via the transfer portal and signed 30 freshmen as part of the 2025 recruiting class.
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During the spring portion of UNC’s schedule, Belichick chose not to give out jersey numbers for the Tar Heels. It’s a tactic he brought to Chapel Hill from his time with the NFL’s New England Patriots.
Here’s a breakdown of the jersey numbers for the slew of new UNC football players ahead of Belichick’s debut season, which kicks off Sept. 1 (8 p.m., ESPN) against TCU at Kenan Stadium.
UNC football’s jersey numbers for new players in 2025
Here’s a quick look at the numbers of the UNC football newcomers heading into the 2025 season.
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0 — DB Ty White (freshman)
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1 — DB Thaddeus Dixon (Washington transfer)
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2 —QB Bryce Baker (freshman)
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4 — LB Mikai Gbayor (Missouri transfer)
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5 — WR Jason Robinson (Washington transfer)
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6 — DL D’Antre Robinson (Florida transfer)
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6 — LB Dayton Sneed (Tennessee transfer)
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7 — LB Khmori House (Washington transfer)
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7 — QB Gio Lopez (South Alabama transfer)
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8 — DL Smith Vilbert (Penn State transfer)
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9 — DL Melkart Abou-Jaoude (Delaware transfer)
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10 — QB Au’Tori Newkirk (freshman)
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10 — DL Pryce Yates (UConn transfer)
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12 — RB Demon June (freshman)
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12 — DB Greg Smith (Florida transfer)
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15 — WR Nathan Leacock (Tennessee transfer)
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16 — DB Coleman Bryson (Minnesota transfer)
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17 — DB Peyton Waters (Washington transfer)
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17 —WR Adrian Wilson (freshman)
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18 — TE Connor Cox (South Carolina transfer)
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20 — RB Jaylon Nichols (freshman)
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21 — DB Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins (UCLA transfer)
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24 — DB Javion Butts (freshman)
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25 — DL Joseph Mupoyi (Penn State transfer)
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26 — RB JoJo Troupe (freshman)
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27 — RB Jaylen McGill (freshman)
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27 — DB Graham Reintjes (freshman)
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28 — RB Benjamin Hall (Michigan transfer)
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28 — LB Chinedu Onyeagoro (freshman)
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30 — LB Evan Bennett (freshman)
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32 — DB Jermaine Anderson (freshman)
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33 — LB Tyler Houser (freshman)
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33 — FB Henry Martello (freshman)
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43 — LB Lantz Pascal (freshman)
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44 —LB Jake Bauer (freshman)
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47 — LB Austin Alexander (freshman)
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48 — LS Gannon Burt (Florida transfer)
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51 — DL Peter Pesansky (freshman)
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52 — OL Daniel King (Troy transfer)
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53 — OL Christo Kelly (Holy Cross transfer)
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54 — LB Timir Hickman-Collins (Florida State transfer)
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54 — OL Miles McVay (Alabama transfer)
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55 — OL Jakai Moore (South Carolina transfer)
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66 — OL Jordan Hall (UAB transfer)
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69 — OL Chad Lindberg (Rice transfer)
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70 — OL Byron Nelson (freshman)
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71 — OL William Boone (Prairie View A&M transfer)
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72 — OL Eidan Buchanan (freshman)
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73 — OL Will O’Steen (Jacksonville State transfer)
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77 — OL Trey Blue (freshman)
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80 — TE Jordan Owens (Central Arkansas transfer)
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81 — WR Aziah Johnson (Michigan State transfer)
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82 — TE Yasir Smith (freshman)
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83 — WR Kenedy Uzoma (freshman)
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84 — TE Shamar Easter (Arkansas transfer)
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84 — DL Laderion Williams (freshman)
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85 — WR Shanard Clower (freshman)
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86 — DL Kamarion Thomas (freshman)
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86 — WR Madrid Tucker (freshman)
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87 — DL Trey Giddens (freshman)
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89 — DL Emmanuel Nwaiwu (freshman)
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90 — DL Xavier Lewis (freshman)
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90 — K Rece Verhoff (Marshall transfer)
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92 — DL CJ Mims (East Carolina transfer)
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93 — DL Devin Ancrum (freshman)
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93 — P Jacob Horvath (Eastern Illinois transfer)
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94 — DL Isaiah Johnson (Arizona transfer)
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95 — LB Daniel Anderson (freshman)
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96 — DL Nico Maggio (freshman)
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97 — K Guytano Bartolomeo (freshman)
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football: Jersey numbers for 2025 season newcomers
