Bill Belichick is just as much a fan of lacrosse as he is the sport he coaches. The six-time Super Bowl champion will be thrilled to know that he already has a dual-sport star on his college football team at North Carolina!
Ryan Hornyak is both a placekicker at UNC in the fall and a defensive midfielder in the spring.
Belichick, 72, played lacrosse in high school and four years at Wesleyan University. Each of his three children also went on to play lacrosse in college: Steve at Rutgers, Brian at Trinity and Amanda at Wesleyan. While the three male Belichicks went on to coach football, the lone female currently serves as the head coach of Holy Cross women’s lacrosse. Needless to say, the oldest organized sport in North America is in their blood.
In addition to his two sons, Belichick also employed Mike Pellegrino on his staff in New England. Pellegrino was a two-time All-American at Johns Hopins and played in the MLL. And then of course there were his players.
Chris Hogan is a two-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver with the Patriots. He was one of the best college lacrosse players in the country during a three-year run at Penn State. Long snapper Joe Cardona was a highly-ranked lacrosse recruit in high school. Chris Long was another. Belichick also hosted a former lacrosse All-American for a tryout during his final season in Massachusetts.
Bill Belichick loves lacrosse!
The future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach was named the head coach at UNC earlier this week. His first order of business will be roster assembly, which includes a desperate need for a quarterback.
Although there are a lot of holes left to fill, Belichick will be thrilled to learn about Ryan Hornyak. The true freshman place-kicker was ranked as a five-star specialist out of high school as the New England Kicker of the Year. And when he’s not hitting field goals, he’s hitting attackmen.
Hornyak was a three-star lacrosse recruit out of Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. He also signed with the Tar Heels as a depth piece at D-Middie!
Bill Belichick has expressed his affinity for lacrosse and lacrosse players in the past. Hornyak is going to be his favorite player as soon as he gets to work in Chapel Hill!