Bill Belichick is coaching college football for the first time. The eight-time Super Bowl champion was hired by the University of North Carolina during the offseason and will be the oldest head coach on the FBS level at the age of 72.
Although there are a lot of things that are new to Belichick, one important emphasis remains the same — conditioning.
Jaffer Murphy transferred into the Tar Heels program last month after playing two different sports for three different colleges. The former college soccer player at Drake and Florida Gulf Coast switched to college football as a kicker for Lake Erie College on the Division-II level last season. He chose to walk-on at UNC over eight FCS and FBS offers and brings a big leg to Chapel Hill with three years of eligibility remaining.
From Training ➡️ In Game.
— JafferMurphy (@jaffermurphy) December 6, 2024
60 yard FG‼️ pic.twitter.com/gZSKFjRzoH
Murphy is very familiar with difficult offseason workouts. Long runs and heavy sprints are a big focus of college soccer training programs. Athletes must be able to go all-out on the pitch for 90 minutes.
With that in mind, Murphy is impressed by Belichick’s emphasis on physical fitness. He said that the new head coach at North Carolina has his players on a strict workout program that requires them to run a “lil extra” during the week.
Obviously, it is not uncommon for a college football coach to make his players get in shape for the season by running during the offseason. This is not any kind of groundbreaking strategy that has never been used before. Bill Belichick is not making waves. Nothing like that.
However, Murphy’s insight into the Tar Heels’ offseason regimen is the first “inside look” at the new era. North Carolina is going to be in peak physical shape when it takes the field for spring practice in April. That will be a point of emphasis come fall camp in August.
Maybe this means that Bill Belichick wants to go fast?