Bill Belichick has yet to coach his first game at the college level.
But Belichick, widely regarded as one of the greatest—if not the greatest—NFL coaches of all time, is already noticing differences between players at the college and pro level. And it goes beyond the obvious age and skill differences that one would assume exist between the levels of football.
"...On the college end, you're right. The players are a little bit younger and less skilled," Belichick said at ACC media days on Thursday. "Sometimes that's an advantage. There are fewer bad habits to break. But I would also say the players are much more receptive to the coaching.
"They haven't had as long with the way that they were doing it through a college career, maybe even some pro years where they were starting to develop habits they were comfortable with. They were a little harder to change."
It's not only interesting that Belichick believes there are fewer bad habits at the college level, but even more so that he feels players are more open to coaching, perhaps suggesting that there's a bit of an ego factor at play when coaching more established players at the NFL level.
Belichick will get his first chance to coach the Tar Heels in game action when they open the regular season against TCU on September 1.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bill Belichick Points Out Striking Difference Between NFL, College Football Players.