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During preseason camp, chatter revolves around the depth chart.
Coaches and fans alike try to gauge which players can help their team win games. Meanwhile, players arrive to the practice field, trying to seize every moment to move up the depth chart or solidify a starting role.
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But UNC’s running back room, headlined by returning duo Demon June and Ben Hall and transfer Kaleb Jackson, is unified behind a different objective: helping the team however they can.
“I wouldn’t even call it a competition,” June said.
UNC’s running backs have expressed selflessness as they prepare for the 2026 season, looking to remedy the team’s 4-8 record from the previous year.
In 2025, the Tar Heels ranked 14th of 17 ACC teams in offensive efficiency.
June, who led UNC with 464 rushing yards as a true freshman last season, smiled brightly at the press conference lectern Friday. He stood with his back upright, shoulders back and flashed his second-year maturity.
With a year of college football under his belt, June said he has leveraged last season’s experience to feel more comfortable on the field heading into year two.
“(My) confidence,” June said, “is through the roof.”
Hall — who rushed for 274 yards on 71 carries and made eight catches for 34 yards last year — said he has focused on growing more vocal as a leader. He added he prides himself in his stewardship of younger players.
On the field, Hall said he has focused on details like hand placement and foot fire in pass-blocking situations.
“Just trying to be that all-around act that I can be,” Hall said, “I’m just harping on those little things so that I can be the best player I can be.”
Jackson, who hardly saw the field at LSU last season, multiple years removed from a four-touchdown 2023 season, has worn the No. 62 during preseason camp instead of No. 5 after being listed at 234 pounds on UNC’s roster.
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Belichick praised Jackson’s explosiveness with the ball in his hands and growing confidence as he’s grown in the team’s system. But he also addressed the number:
“Yeah,” Belichick said, “big back, big number.”
While the running backs haven’t focused much on positional jockeying, the coaches have begun ordering the depth chart as the team builds toward its season opener on Aug. 29 against TCU in Ireland.
Belichick said he evaluates running backs on their ability to turn gains into explosive plays, looking for how they can turn a two-yard gain into 12 or an eight-yard pickup into 30.
“It’s very competitive,” Belichick said of the running back room, “and you can see skill, see speed, power (and) ability in the passing game.”
New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said at the start of preseason he’s been impressed with UNC’s running back room. He said the players were “pretty even,” with little drop-off from one player to another.
Petrino emphasized the importance of the running game regardless of whether UNC becomes a pass-or-run-first team. Eventually, in the red zone or to kill the clock, teams have to run the ball.
“Everybody,” Petrino said, “(has) got to be able to run to win.”
Over the summer, the coaching staff watched film on its running backs to understand their capabilities. For Petrino, who said the team graded its rushers as pass blockers, one ability matters more than the rest:
“If you don’t protect the quarterback,” Petrino said, “you can’t get in the game.”
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