The North Carolina Tar Heels dominated Richmond in every aspect of Saturday's football matchup, winning 41-6 and recording their second-straight victory.
UNC (1-1) started to look more like the offseason team fans all hoped for. True freshman Demon June led all rushers with 148 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Gio Lopez totaled three touchdowns and 159 scrimmage yards.
North Carolina's defense took over the game, showcasing how special it can be by limiting the visiting Spiders to 199 yards. Linebacker Mikai Gbayor had the sparkly play, scoring on a 61-yard fumble return, but Tar Heels edge rusher Melkart Abou-Jaoude notched a pair of sacks – and recovered a fumble of his own.
During his postgame press conference, Bill Belichick spoke on Abou-Jaoude's impact Saturday against Richmond – and called him UNC's top defensive lineman.
"I think Melkart's been a great story for us," Belichick said. "Came to us from Delaware and wasn't that big of a transfer coming in, but just kept getting better and better every day. By the end of the spring, he's probably our most productive defensive lineman. He's just put a lot of consistency together. That's a guy we can count on to come in and work hard, do the right thing almost every single day. He's earned a lot of respect and trust from his teammates, obviously, the defensive coaching staff and certainly the head coach. But it's really been impressive."
After the Tar Heels failed to secure a single sack in Week 1 against TCU, they now have sacks in consecutive weeks. On Saturday, Abou-Jaoude – whom Belichick said wasn't a huge transfer coming in – played his best game and impressed his new head coach.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Bill Belichick calls Melkart Abou-Jaoude UNC's best D-lineman
