The 2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

as a member of Coastal Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) during the

2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2015 and ended on D ...

. The team was led by fourth-year head coach

Larry Fedora Herbert Lawrence Fedora (born September 10, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the former coach and general manager for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). He previously served as head c ...

and played their home games at

Kenan Memorial Stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium is a stadium located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is the home field of the North Carolina Tar Heels. It is primarily used for football. The stadium opened in 1927 and holds 50,500 people. It is located near the center ...

. North Carolina finished the season 11–3 overall and 8–0 in ACC play to win the ACC Coastal Division title. They represented the Coastal Division in the

ACC Championship Game The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2022, the game pit the champion of ...

, where they lost to Atlantic Division champion Clemson. They were invited to the

Russell Athletic Bowl The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Clas ...

, where they lost to Baylor.

Recruiting

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a member of the United States National Collegiate Athletic Association ( ...

was on February 4, 2015 and was the first chance for high school seniors to officially declare which university or college they will be attending for their college career. North Carolina had 19 high school seniors sign a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play football with them. Of the class, 10 athletes enrolled early to UNC.

Coaching staff

North Carolina head coach

entered his fourth year as the North Carolina's head coach for the 2015 season. After ranking as one of the worst defenses in the country in 2014, Fedora completely revamped the Tar Heel defensive coaching staff. Fedora hired

Gene Chizik Eugene C. Chizik Jr. (born December 28, 1961) is an American football coach who is currently the Assistant Head Coach for Defense at North Carolina. A veteran of the coaching ranks, Chizik previously was UNC's defensive coordinator for the 2015 ...

as the new

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

. Chizik was most recently the head coach at

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, where he led the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. With the coaching change, UNC also switched from a 4-2-5 base defense to a

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

. Other defensive coaching hires include

John Papuchis John Papuchis (born April 23, 1978) is the special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach for the Florida State University, Florida State Seminoles Florida State Seminoles football, football team.https://umterps.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1666&path= ...

, former defensive coordinator at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, as linebackers coach, Tray Scott as defensive line coach, and Charlton Warren as defensive backs coach.

Schedule

North Carolina is the only FBS team that played all of its 2015 regular-season games, both home and away, on grass fields.

Game summaries

vs. South Carolina

North Carolina A&T

Illinois

Delaware

at Georgia Tech

Wake Forest

Virginia

at Pittsburgh

Duke

Miami (FL)

at Virginia Tech

at NC State

vs Clemson

vs Baylor

Rankings

Postseason

All-Conference Selections

:''First Team'' •

Elijah Hood Elijah Hood (born April 22, 1996) is a former American football running back. He played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina. Early years Hood attended Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina ...

- Running Back •

Landon Turner Landon Turner (born May 15, 1993) is an American football guard who is currently a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina. His uncle Jim Braxton played professionally for the Bills and Dolphins in the 1970s. High school car ...

- Guard :''Second Team'' •

Marquise Williams Marquise Javon Williams (born October 5, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at North Carolina. Williams was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2016, later playing for the Saskat ...

- Quarterback •

Mack Hollins Mack Hollins (born September 16, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth ...

- Wide Receiver • Jon Heck - Offensive Tackle • Caleb Peterson - Guard •

M. J. Stewart Marvin Stewart Jr. (born September 16, 1995) is an American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North ...

- Cornerback •

Ryan Switzer Ryan Switzer (born November 4, 1994) is a former American football wide receiver and punt returner. Switzer played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (1 ...

- Specialist :''Third Team'' •

- Wide Receiver •

Quinshad Davis Quinshad Davis (born May 24, 1994) is a former American football wide receiver who is currently an offensive assistant at Georgia State. He played college football at North Carolina, where he holds the school record for career touchdown recep ...

- Wide Receiver • Lucas Crowley - Center •

Nazair Jones Nazair "Naz" Jones (born December 13, 1994) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina. Professional career On December 9, 2016, Jones released a statement thr ...

- Defensive Tackle • Shakeel Rashad - Linebacker • Des Lawrence - Cornerback

All-American Selections

, Offensive Line ( AP,

Athlon Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of x86-compatible microprocessors designed and manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The original Athlon (now called Athlon Classic) was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and the fi ...

) *

, All-purpose / return specialist ( AFCA)

NFL Draft

For the second year in a row, North Carolina did not have any players selected in the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. The following players signed as undrafted free agents:

References

{{North Carolina Tar Heels football navbox

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

North Carolina Tar Heels football seasons

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...