During the spring transfer portal, UNC raided Florida Football and landed three players from the Gators. Safety Gregory Smith III, defensive tackle D'antre Robinson, and long snapper Gannon Burt took their talents from Gainesville to Chapel Hill for the 2025 season.
On paper, UNC feels like it could be an exciting team to play for as legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick is at the helm. But Belichick has yet to coach an official game in Chapel Hill, and already the utopia that Belichick sold to these now former Gators has quickly devolved into a circus sideshow.
Florida Gators trapped in a circus at UNC
The backdrop of Belichick's tenure at UNC has been his relationship with Jordon Hudson. The significant age gap between the two has raised eyebrows, but otherwise has been a subplot off to the side.
That subplot became the entire narrative surrounding UNC last week after a CBS interview where Hudson interjected in the interview and shut the topic down when the question of how Belichick and Hudson met was asked.
From there, reports have surfaced that Hudson intervened and shut down plans for HBO to film UNC to be on the series Hard Knocks.
Now, one-time ESPN personality Pablo Torre is claiming that the situation involving Hudson isn't getting any better. Speaking on his show, Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre claims that:
"Two sources at the University of North Carolina tell me that there has been a decision that was made last week by the higher-ups inside the athletic department that had hired Bill Belichick to be the highest paid public employee — not just coach in the state of North Carolina at $10 million a year — and that decision was that Jordon Hudson, she is no longer allowed in the football building. She is not allowed on the football field." Quote: 'Don't think you'll be hearing much from Jordon moving forward.'"
For what it is worth, UNC has come out and denied the report and claims that Hudson is in fact allowed in the facility.
Say what you will for the job security of Billy Napier, but at least he is going to take the field on August 30 when the Gators take on Long Island.
If things keep torpedoing in the direction they have been going publicly, there is no guarantee that Smith, Robinson, and Burt will have a head coach on August 30.