CHAPEL HILL – True story: North Carolina offensive lineman Christo Kelly won an Irish dance competition a few months ago.

One-hundred percent true.

“Yeah,” he said laughing. “It was halftime of the women's (basketball) Patriot League championship game I went out on the court. I took Irish dancing when I was a little bit younger, second and third grade. And that training kind of came back and was put to fruition. I got my dad like a jacket for it. So, I told him, I said, 'hey, here's the ROI (return on investment) for the Irish dancing classes.'

"I was a dance minor at Holy Cross. I took classes my senior and my fifth year to be able to stay there the extra year. So, a good investment down the line."

Anyone who understands the important of near-pristine footwork playing along the offensive line can appreciate Kelly’s steps. It can only help, and certainly has aided the former Holy Cross start as he’s navigated to the Power 4 and UNC.

"I think it's a combination of everything,” he said this past Tuesday during an interview at the Kenan Football Center. “There's a lot of stretching when you're doing ballet, the warmups and whatnot. It's good for ankle mobility. It was a lot of fun. You've got to diversify your résumé somehow.

“And obviously it's good for footwork, being light on your feet. So it was a pretty cool experience. I was very grateful for it."

Kelly minored in dance at Holy Cross. He has also become proficient with break dancing, hip hop, Broadway dance, and dance composition performances.

In an interview with Holy Cross’ school paper in the spring, Kelly described himself as, “Economics major, dance minor, football player.”

At UNC, grad school and football come first. And football is mainly why he’s a Tar Heel. It’s a means to finish his education but to also possibly have a chance at playing on the next level.

He’s also accomplished in other areas. Kelly was president of the Holy Cross Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was named one of 22 college football players nationally last year to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team. And he was on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll from 2020-2024.

On the field, he was at his best last fall playing 778 snaps (777 center, 1 left guard), 373 of which were pass blocking snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 0 QB hits allowed, 3 hurries allowed, 99.6 efficiency.

Below is much more from what Kelly had to say this past week:

*Kelly was connected to UNC with help from Holy Cross Women’s Lacrosse Coach Amanda Belichick, the daughter of Carolina Coach Bill Belichick. He was also the legendary coach’s first transfer portal commit.

"It was pretty surreal. I had a pretty good relationship with his daughter, Amanda Belichick, who's the women's lacrosse coach at Holy Cross, and kind of got connected through that. The process happened pretty quickly from the first conversation to getting here on the visit. It was like a dream, to be able to play here at this type of institution at this level not just for Coach Belichick, but Coach Friend and all the coaches on this staff. It's pretty surreal. And I wake up every day extremely grateful for the opportunity that I have here. And I know others share the same sentiment."

*More from Kelly on Amanda Belichick helping to connect him with UNC:

"Obviously, when you go in the portal, you mark out what type of schools you're interested in. And as you go through the process, your vision becomes more clear. Carolina kind of fit all of the bill. And obviously with Coach Belichick coming here, the pedigree that he brings — the greatest coach of all time, undisputed — it's pretty remarkable.

"I had Amanda Belichick reach out to me and kind of get me connected here. And then from there, go through that process, get evaluated. It was a perfect fit. You're here now, and it's pretty great."

*Kelly was the starting center during the spring, but that was before quarterback Gio Lopez came in from South Alabama. He’s been on campus a few weeks and is developing chemistry with Kelly.

"Gio's a great competitor, and obviously he had a great career at South Alabama. He's a pretty good golfer, too. Very good club head speed. But just like everything, everything's a competition, day in and day out. Everyone's really just focused on taking it one day at a time. No one's really viewing anything as a starter or non-starter, whatever that is.

“Guys were brought in here to compete. And the message has been sent that you're going to earn everything every day. So you've got to come with your A-game, and iron sharpens iron. So, it's good to be in this position where you have so many great players in the quarterback room. And really, all the rooms in general, where guys are just going to be pushing each other every day."

*Going from a small FCS program to a P4 like Carolina is a major change on many levels, as Kelly explained.

"Obviously the resources that we have here at North Carolina are pretty tremendous, from the facilities to the academic support, and obviously having a graduate school here. So, the resources are a huge advantage and just being able to have that at your disposal, being able to come in here pretty much whenever, is a huge advantage.

"At the end of the day, football's football. That's just kind of really how it is. Obviously, the level of athletes that are here is pretty impressive. But I was able to play with a lot of really good players at Holy Cross, my buddy (offensive lineman Luke Newman) just got drafted this year. So overall, the resources are probably the big thing. But what we have here and what we're building right now, building that foundation day by day and brick by brick, it's truly special. And I'm excited to be a part of it."

*Asked to describe OL Coach Will Friend’s style, Kelly replied, "He's a very intense coach. He's breeding toughness. But the attention to detail that he brings, it's truly remarkable. He's teaching the game in a way that's allowing us to conceptually understand everything that's going on. And on top of that, just the emphasis on the toughness, the effort that you need to bring day in and day out. Really setting the standard. Kind of understanding the team goes as we go. So, we have to be the ones that set the pace.

"Coach Friend has coached a tremendous amount of NFL talent. He knows how to do it. We're very fortunate to have him here. He does an awesome job. And Coach Corey (Gaynor) does an unbelievable job as well, working in that room. We're truly blessed to have so many great coaches around us, wanting us to get better, and promoting us to be our best."