JOHNSON CITY — The East Tennessee State football team heads to Chapel Hill this weekend to face North Carolina and its head coach, six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick.
The Bucs might want to pack their slingshot in preparation for facing this Goliath.
While UNC had a losing season in 2025 and is currently surrounded by scandal, the disparity in size, talent, and resources is significant when comparing the two programs heading into Saturday’s matchup (Noon, ACC Network).
“I think the beauty of what this game does for us as a staff is, it creates a sense of urgency with how much we need to correct from the first two weeks and how well we’ll need to play to have a chance to have success,” ETSU coach Will Healy said at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Healy added: “He’s won six [Super Bowls] as a head coach and two as a coordinator, but the guy knows what he’s talking about. You know, you’ve watched the documentary, you’ve seen how consistent he is. And, you know, I think the funny part is he probably has zero interest talking to me at midfield before the game. So it’ll probably be the quickest midfield conversation you’ve ever seen. Not a whole lot in common with our background, but just a ton of respect for me, for him. What makes him such a good head coach and defensive coach is I think that he’s so meticulous. There is no stone left unturned. His guys have answers. Everything you do is judged with a fine-toothed comb. All your tendencies are exposed and he’s never satisfied. You know, I think you can see the Saban effect in college football because of what he learned from Coach Belichick. And, you know, that turns into a Kirby [Smart] effect and that turns into a [Curt] Cignetti effect.
“I’ve just got a ton of respect for what he’s been able to do and what he’s already done in his short two years at North Carolina. You know your work’s cut out for you, but also the competitor side, you’re like, heck, yeah, man. I get to go against the Hall of Famer, and I get to go against the guy who wrote the book on how to play defense and who’s won six Super Bowls. I’m excited about that. But it has nothing to do with Will Healy versus Bill Belichick. It has everything to do with our guys getting to go into Keenan Stadium and play in an incredible environment against a team that beat TCU and is getting a lot of national exposure. And some NFL guys. Like, what an awesome challenge.”
The players attending Monday’s press conference, wide receiver Suderian Harrison and Jack KJ Gillespie, talked about the sense of urgency that Healy and the staff had impressed on the players coming out of the 48-14 win against Division II Tusculum on Saturday.
Harrison, who transferred in from Virginia earlier this year, already has played UNC mutiple times. The Cavaliers and Tar Heels engage in what’s called the South’s Oldest Rivalry, a series dating back to 1892.
“I think the biggest thing this week is just we don’t have to do too much,” Harrison said. “It’s still at the end of the day still a football game. Only 11 guys can go out there. On paper they’re really good, but it really hasn’t been too much a thing that our guys really worried about up or seeing guys name on paper or weight, size. At the end of the day we all play football.”
A team player
Healy had nothing but praise for quarterback Jadyn Davis, who made his ETSU debut late in the Tusculum game. Davis, who transferred in from Michigan, was rated by ESPN as the No. 3 quarterback in the entire class of 2024.
“This dude is the No. 3 ranked high school quarterback in the country. He goes to Michigan, he’s a backup, he comes to ETSU. We obviously have extremely high aspirations for him, what he’s going to be. And then he gets beat out,” Healy said. “He could have pouted and been like, I’m not going in the game 48-14 against Tusculum. I’m not doing this with six minutes to go in the game. That wasn’t him at all.
“There’s actually a picture on social media of Jadyn celebrating in the locker room … I am very appreciative of how this dude has been for us in our program and it was fun for me to see him get in and execute well. And he’s really talented. I’m very confident if he had to get in the game that he would be exceptional for us.”
Belichick speaks
In between fielding, and dodging, questions from local reporters about the scandal currently facing the North Carolina program, Belichick spoke about the ETSU program during his weekly meeting with the media on Monday.
“Offensively, they’re a very explosive team,” Belichick said. “They’re averaging over 40 points a game, 500 yards a game, and close to 60% on third down. They haven’t scored less than 14 points in any quarter, and they really rack up a lot of big numbers. They’re a very well-balanced team with 500 yards a game, 200 on the ground, 300 in the air.
“They have an excellent return game with both the kick returner, the running back, and number two – I’m not sure how to pronounce this guy’s name – but he’s one of the receivers that returns punts.”
Number two would be Xavier Gaillardetz, for the record.
Belichick also had compliments for ETSU tight end Charlie Browder: “He’s a big, good-looking, 6-6, 6-7 tight end, so he’s a problem.”
Buc Bits
ETSU senior LB Dre Delinois currently leads the Southern Conference in tackles with 22 total through two games. … UNC is a 35.5-point favorite for the game with ETSU. … Dave Clawson will be part of the TV broadcast for this game. Clawson coached Healy at Richmond but might be most remembered by area football fans for his one-year stint as offensive coordinator at Tennessee in 2008, which happened to be the final season for Phillip Fulmer. … The Bucs have scored 85 total points, the most through two games for the program since 1999. … ETSU RB TJ Peyton leads the Southern Conference in yards per carry (7.7) and rushing touchdowns (3).