North Carolina Practices Without Names, Numbers On Jerseys Under Bill Belichick

Typically, members of the media are handed a numbered roster on the first day of spring practice to help identify newcomers or note any physical changes for returning players.

But those who cover the North Carolina football program did not have that luxury when the Tar Heels kicked off the first spring practice last week under legendary head coach Bill Belichick.

In fact, not a single player had a name or number on their jersey, with offensive players simply wearing blank Carolina blue tops, defensive players in white and quarterbacks in red non-contact pennies.

Spring Ball Vibes #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/aOUyWEiLfh
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) March 4, 2025

“That’s just what we do. We go out there and we earn it,” Belichick said during his pre-practice media availability on March 6. “The numbers, what color gloves we wear and all that is not as important as doing your job and being responsible and accountable to your teammates and being a good teammate.

“Our focus is on the team. We’re just all out there working, practicing and trying to get better. It’s coaches, players – all of us. It’s not about individual notoriety right now, it’s about trying to put together a team.”

It’s a tradition that Belichick, an eight-time Super Bowl champion, started during his time with the New England Patriots. Every player – including quarterback Tom Brady – wore a blank jersey in training camp before the NFL stepped in ahead of the 2016 season and banned the practice, citing the need to monitor player participation.

“Of course, they changed the rules and forced us to put jersey numbers on the players, and so we did,” Belichick said. “I don’t think that’s important at this time of the year. I think it’s more important to just go out there and practice well and improve every day, so that’s what we emphasize.”

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— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) March 6, 2025

It’s hard to argue with Belichick’s methods, as he compiled a 266-121 record in the regular season, 31 playoff victories and six Super Bowl titles in 24 seasons in New England and is looking to turn around a program that went 6-7 last season and has not won a conference title since 1980.

Patriots players eventually received their numbers in time for the preseason opener, and the Tar Heels will certainly have theirs when they kick off the 2025 season against TCU on Sept. 1 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Similarly, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders also required that players earn their numbers ahead of the 2023 season, which saw the Buffaloes improve from 1-11 the season prior to 4-8 and then 9-4 in 2024.

“Everything you do around here will be earned,” Sanders said at the time. “We ain’t giving you nothing, so you gotta go get it and you gotta take it.”