Tom Brady warns of college hurdle Bill Belichick never faced in NFL before UNC debut originally appeared on The Sporting News
How will Bill Belichick work out in his first season at North Carolina? That’s the question everyone wants to know, and plenty have already offered their opinions.
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Now, Belichick’s former New England Patriots quarterback, legend Tom Brady, is weighing in.
As a guest on The Joel Klatt Show: Big Noon Conversations, Brady said he, like most, is “very interested” to see how his former coach transitions to the college level at UNC. But he’s confident in one thing — Belichick will have them prepared and developed.
“If you go to that school, you will be prepared to play at the next level,” Brady told Klatt. “He’s going to teach you the right fundamentals, the right techniques. He’s going to have a high expectation for you, and you’re going to develop a lot. That’s what I know.”
Brady admitted the challenge could come in dealing with younger players — a significant difference from the NFL.
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“I think the challenge for him is he’s dealing with a lot of probably underdeveloped players, because he’s dealt with guys that are four, five, six years further along than what he’s normally had to deal with. So I think there’s probably a learning curve for him, and this is just me hypothesizing. I don’t have much knowledge of it, but I’m sure it’s different coaching a 17- or 18-year-old than even a 22- or 23-year-old.”
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Brady also noted that the biggest adjustment may come from the fact that, unlike NFL veterans, these will still be college kids who have more than just football occupying their time.
“How much can these young kids retain? That may be an interesting challenge as well, because in some ways, they’re not professional. They don’t have as much time as we had as professional athletes to go in there and study film and practice and meet and all that. They don’t have that amount of time at the college level.”
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Regardless of how lucrative NIL deals may make college athletes, they’re still students first. How Belichick manages that could be a true testament to his coaching acumen.
The first look at the North Carolina era under Bill Belichick comes Labor Day night, when the Tar Heels host TCU.
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