3 Predictions for UNC Football program's season opener at Minnesota

Here are three predictions for the UNC football’s first home game of the 2024 college football regular season against the B1G's Minnesota . 
Minnesota v North Carolina
Minnesota v North Carolina / Grant Halverson/GettyImages
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Power Echols, Joey Aguilar
Appalachian State v North Carolina / Grant Halverson/GettyImages

No. 1: Power Echols will lead the team in tackles

Say what you will about North Carolina's defenses over the last five years. They have been disappointing to poor and everywhere in between. But the middle linebacker play from Jeremiah Gemmel to Cedric Gray has been elite. Now it's Cedric Gray's turn. And why not? When you wear #23 at North Carolina, you basically have no choice but to ball out of control.

Echols is like Chris Benoit. A bit undersized, but ferocious like a wolverine. He's also opportunistic, grabbing interceptions off of tips rather than suffocating pass coverage. He had one such pick in the Minnesota home game last season:

Expect Echols, now an upperclassman leader on the defense, to lead the team in total tackles, and force at least one turnover.