UNC senior offensive lineman John Ferranto suffered what is being described as an upper body injury earlier this week and will miss the entire 2016 football season, sources close to the situation have confirmed to THI.

Ferranto was slated to start at right guard after serving as a key back up for much of the last two seasons. He actually led the Tar Heels with more than 800 snaps in 2014, starting most of the season. Last season, Ferranto played 433 snaps.

The 6-6, 300-pound native of Burlington, NJ, earned the favor of the staff not long after he arrived in Chapel Hill.

"He's an unbelievable person. I hope my sons are like him when they get older, I really do," his offensive line coach, Chris Kapilovic said last season about Ferranto. "This whole program means the world to him, he pours his heart and soul every day, and he's actually played four spots... He's been a valuable, valuable person for this line."

Kapilovic also said that Ferranto permeates the kind of culture the staff wants inside the Tar Heels' program.

"That's what you want," Kapilovic said. "He's all about business, and whatever task you give him he's going to go ahead and accomplish it. There's no complaining, there's just working at it, and that's really what you want."

According to a release by UNC, Ferranto had surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn left pectoral muscle. The surgery was performed at UNC Hospitals by Dr. Alex Creighton. Ferranto suffered the injury during training workouts on Monday. Recovery time is expected to be six months.

Also see my take in "My Thoughts: Ferranto's Injury"