There Is No Offseason - Scouting Carolina Football 2026 Begins

Inside Carolina’s Greg Barnes and Jason Staples join Tommy Ashley to talk all things North Carolina football as Bill Belichick’s team heads into the summer program in preparation for the 2026 season.

Staples highlights his process of evaluation and scouting nearly 50 current Tar Heels through extensive film study. He also highlights how he views players against the best in the game position by position and what coaching fit and playing style matters in these in-depth reports. This discussion includes which groups could limit UNC’s success on the field given the shortcomings on the roster.

Finally, Staples recalls the scouting reports from years past and discusses those that were right and those that were not, which leads to an interesting discussion of position groups and the difficulty in evaluating players in those groups.

Show Rundown (time stamps are for YouTube version):
0:00 – Stream begins
0:30 – Show begins
2:15 – Mood into the offseason
6:25 – Staples scouts rolling out: 6th annual list
10:29 – Youngest team in memory?
16:00 – Viewer question: contracts and NIL impact and sustainability?
23:55 – Scouting report process
32:50 – Fit matters
36:01 – Petrino’s impact on OL
43:45 – What brings optimism?
46:00 – Best and worst scout
51:22 – Greg’s closing it out: Petrino’s level

There are many ways to get this episode and all of Inside Carolina’s shows:
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* Watch live and on-demand, and subscribe, on YouTube

We want to thank and acknowledge our main sponsor for this show:
–> Johnny T-shirt: the best place for Tar Heel gear, a Chapel Hill tradition since 1983, and 20-year partners with Inside Carolina. Visit them on Franklin Street or check out their big online store.

Inside Carolina produces an unprecedented lineup of regular programming dedicated to Tar Heel sports, available in both audio and video (live!) formats all within a single channel, featuring the top experts. Here’s the lineup, which is complemented by special roundtables, featured interviews, reaction episodes, and more throughout the year:

* IC Daily (analysis) with Greg Barnes, Tommy Ashley
* Coast to Coast (basketball & recruiting) with Sherrell McMillan, Sean Moran, Joey Powell
* The Postgame (basketball) with Rob Harrington/Dewey Burke, Tommy Ashley
* Next Level (reporting) with Greg Barnes, Tommy Ashley
* Noon Dish (football recruiting) with Don Callahan, Tommy Ashley
* The Day After (football) with Buck Sanders, Jason Staples, Tommy Ashley
* Schoett & Vipp (football) with Jeff Schoettmer and Taylor Vippolis
* The Game Plan (football) with Greg Barnes, Jason Staples, Tommy Ashley

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