CHAPEL HILL – The second time around for Bill Belichick has been different from his first go as UNC’s head coach.

Sources inside the program have repeatedly said a better understanding of the whole college landscape on and off the field is an area Belichick has changed the most.

Consider: While UNC has just three availabilities to the media this spring, each time, the media are permitted to watch a portion of practice; Belichick wasn’t originally going to do a spring press conference but decided to; he was on the court when former coach Mack Brown was honored; he was at Michael Malone’s introductory press conference.

From football stuff to just being a part of the campus community, evidence is there that a shift has taken place. And now there’s a new thread added, one that is as new as anything for the legendary owner of six Super Bowl rings. Class attendance.

In an interview at the Kenen Football Center, veteran center Christo Kelly offered a perfect example of a side of Belichick that is clearly collegial and one most fans probably hadn’t previously envisioned:

“I’ll give you guys a good story, at least in terms of there’s on-field (and) off the field stuff and growing (into) the game of college football. And one of the things obviously is guys going to class… There was one time me and DJ Mazzone were walking out front going to the business school. He’s in the undergrad program, I’m getting my MBA.

“And we see walking down is coach Belichick (with) this huge clipboard in his hand. He’s got this huge smile. You would think with this smile he’d just won a Super Bowl or something like that. Like the amount of joy that he had from what had just happened – something just happened!

“And we’re like, ‘Coach, what were you up to?’

‘”Thirteen-for-13,'” (Belichick said). ‘”Thirteen-for-13.’

“And this is Coach Belichick going to classes class checking guys. Thirteen-for-13. And just the amount of joy that he had knowing that in how you do anything is how you do everything. And I’m sure if you told any of the (pro) guys that know Coach Belichick that he would be class checking college freshmen going into an intro to anthropology class at 8 am on a Tuesday morning, they would think you’re crazy.

“I just think it speaks to the level of buy-in that Coach Belichick has.”