Gio Lopez, Jr., QB

6-feet, 220 pounds

With his arm or with his feet, Gio Lopez knows how to make plays. He’s proven that.

While engineers South Alabama’s potent offense last season, Lopez was credited with 82 runs for an average of 5.7 per attempt. He scored 7 rushing touchdowns and had a long run of 52 yards and three runs that went for at least 40 yards.

Six of his pass plays went for 40 or more yards and 36 were charted as explosive plays. So, it stands to reason his eyes have been on similar quarterbacks at the next level. Lamar Jackson was his guy for a while, but Lopez has shifted of late.

“I watched a lot of Lamar when I was younger,” Lopez said in March in an interview on the ZenGame Podcast. “And then I realized probably a year or two ago, I was like Lamar is playing at about 180, I’m playing at like 215.

“So, I more started watching other players… Older players like Randall Cunningham, how he played the game, Michael Vick. I wear 7 as well as him and we’re both lefthanded, so that’s a cool deal.

Cunningham is a big-time throwback A star at UNLV and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1980s, plus some other teams in the 90s, and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He used his legs at a time QBs didn’t do much of that.

Vick led Virginia Tech to a national championship game and was a start in the NFL.

Major Applewhite was pretty good himself at Texas. He didn’t play in the NFL, but he was Lopez’s coach at USA, and said in March some things he liked about his QB.

“He’s making great decisions with the football, not putting the ball in tight spaces and not putting the ball in jeopardy,” Applewhite said during one of his weekly press conferences. “When things (are) covered he’s extending plays using his feet.”

UNC fans will now see Lopez’s exploits on the grass at Kenan Stadium.

As we are doing all spring and summer, here is a dive into Lopez’s numbers:

2024 Stats:

*11 games, 680 snaps, 206-for-312 passing, 2,559 yards, 18 TDs, 5 INTs, 122 first downs, 15 sacks, 10 drops, 13 throwaways, 30 scrambles, 83 runs for 463 yards, 7 TDs

Career Stats:

*16 games, 88 snaps, 247-for-373 passing with 3,034 yards, 22 TDs, 7 INTs, 151 first downs, 16 sacks, 15 drops, 15 throwaways, 37 scrambles, 101 runs for 617 yards and 9 TDs.

2025 Outlook:

Lopez wasn’t paid in the $2 million range to come in and sit. He will be the starting quarterback and his versatility will allow the offense to get creative. But his ability to run the ball wide and with power (323 yards after contact last season), could help make Carolina a good grinding team that can move the chains and have more success in short yardage situations than in recent years.