Florida State’s new veteran wide-out Gavin Blackwell spent barely five months in Chapel Hill under Bill Belichick before jumping into the portal, but the brief encounter left a lasting impression—one he insists bears little resemblance to the gruff caricature NFL fans think they know. Speaking with Tallahassee reporters on June 27, the UNC graduate-transfer called the eight-time Super Bowl champion a “great dude” whose everyday demeanor inside the Kenan Football Center was surprisingly low-key and “all about ball.”
Blackwell arrived at North Carolina in 2021 as a four-star recruit out of Sun Valley (NC) but didn’t truly break into the rotation until 2023, finishing that season with 31 catches for 448 yards and a score. When Belichick stunned the college game by accepting the Tar Heels’ job in December 2024—11 months after leaving the New England Patriots—Blackwell stayed put for spring practice to see the NFL legend up close. According to the receiver, Belichick’s down-to-earth manner surfaced immediately: “He doesn’t look down on anybody, even though he’s Bill Belichick,” Blackwell recalled. “You can just walk up, talk ball, and he’ll give you the same respect back.”
The media narrative, Blackwell contends, misses the personal side he witnessed daily. Team-wide meetings still began at sunrise and every drill carried the trademark Belichick precision—“he loves the details,” Blackwell noted—but players were met with praise as often as curt corrections. “He loves his players, he loves his coaches,” Blackwell said, adding that the coach was quick with a fist-bump after a crisp practice rep. Those touches, the wide-out believes, are why the veteran staff Belichick assembled—including longtime lieutenant Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator—“bought in so fast.”
Why leave, then? Opportunity. UNC’s receiver room was suddenly crowded after spring portal additions, while Mike Norvell’s up-tempo spread in Tallahassee looked tailor-made for Blackwell’s slot skills. “It’s plug-and-play for me,” the 6-foot, 185-pound grad senior said, pointing out that FSU OC Gus Malzahn uses much of the same terminology Chip Lindsey installed at UNC in 2023—another Auburn coaching tree offshoot. Teammates now call the 23-year-old “Unc,” short for uncle, but Blackwell grins at the nickname: “I’m embracing being the old head who can still roll.”
Even in garnet and gold, Blackwell is rooting for the coach he left behind. He believes Belichick’s collegiate reboot will silence skeptics who doubt the NFL icon’s ability to recruit or adapt to NIL-era locker rooms. “Wish him the best,” he said—before flashing a competitor’s grin and adding, “but if we see him on the field, you know what’s up.” That meeting could come as soon as the 2026 ACC schedule, when FSU and UNC are next due to collide—a matchup already circled by talking heads for its Belichick-Blackwell subplot.
For now, the receiver’s simple testimony cuts through months of tabloid noise about Belichick’s private life and coaching shelf-life: behind the hooded sweatshirt is a coach who, in Blackwell’s words, “just wants to teach ball and help guys get better.” It’s a reminder that perception isn’t always reality—and that one candid voice from FSU’s locker room may prove the most authentic scouting report on college football’s most controversial new hire.
