Brian Murphy is based in Raleigh and his title is Sports Investigative Reporter for WRAL TV.

Of late there's been a lot to investigate at North Carolina's football program as Bill Belichick operates in a shroud of secrecy so thick that his players didn't have jersey numbers during the Tar Heels' recent spring game.

In addition, Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend has taken on a strange role within the football program as she regularly scrutinizes UNC's communications staff for not doing a better job protecting the image of Belichick and those below him (including Bill's son Steve, the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator).

Here is an excerpt from Murphy's coverage of a spring game that was not remotely like most spring games:

No numbers on the jerseys for any player throughout spring or in Saturday's final practice.

No player interviews throughout spring or after Saturday's final practice.

No assistant coach interviews throughout spring or after Saturday's final practice.

Belichick spoke to the media near the beginning of spring practice ... and not again. Not even at the end of Saturday's event. Didn’t even pick up the microphone to thank everyone for coming out or tell them how important their presence this fall would be.

Murphy, a graduate of UNC, is a former newspaper sportswriter who covered Georgia Tech during the Chan Gailey era before moving to Boise and having a front-row seat to the Broncos' incredible rise to football prominence.

He was there for Boise State's unforgettable 43-42 triumph over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Before moving back to his roots in Raleigh he lived in Washington D.C., where he covered Congress for the News & Observer of Raleigh.

Joey Batson, Clemson's longtime and iconic strength and conditioning coach, is planning for 2025 to be his final season with the Tigers.

In the midst of this news broken today by Tigerillustrated.com, we revisit a 2021 interview we conducted with Batson in his office just months after he underwent open-heart surgery.

"Being a coach all these years, you want to push," Batson said then. "You just want to keep pushing. But then you're having to pull yourself back, saying: 'I don't know if that's very smart.'"

At the lowest point of his depression, Ricky Sapp was a recluse who wouldn't even answer phone calls from his mother, father or close friend Da'Quan Bowers.

He couldn't sleep and was so itchy that he thought he had bed bugs.

Only after he sought help did he learn that there were no bed bugs, but a monster of a battle as he tried to figure out who he was after his football career ended.

Sapp found himself by stumbling onto his passion for speaking to kids.

It totally changed who he was as a person.

Where he once used to be terrified of public speaking, Sapp now loves having the most public persona imaginable as he posts daily inspirational videos that include a lot of dancing and joyousness.

"I'm just a naturally happy person, which I learned when I got older," he said.

Sapp spent a year-and-a-half at his alma mater, working in Clemson's football strength and conditioning program.

But in August of 2023 he made the difficult decision to leave and pursue his all-consuming passion: Traveling the world and helping its youth.

On his web site therickysappfoundation.com, Sapp "encourages youth to make positive changes within themselves, their schools and communities."

"A single action can make a difference in the community; collective action can greatly impact the world. Ricky Sapp is driven by a single goal: to do his part in making the world a better place for all, one child at a time."

It didn't take long for Viktor Lakhin to become a favorite among Clemson basketball fans after he transferred to the Tigers from Cincinnati.

When he was making major contributions to triumphs over Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, Lakhin was known as the fun-loving Russian.

Dabo Swinney even took a liking to him, coining the "Lakhinness Monster" nickname late in the season when Clemson was amassing an 18-2 ACC record.

But the deeper layers of Lakhin's story make him even more of a fascinating figure.

He joins The Dubcast to talk about hours-long swims as a child in the Black Sea, and 26-mile walks as his father tried to build his mental toughness.

Lakhin's journey to America, which took place in 2020 amid COVID shutdowns and growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, is an extraordinary story by itself.

Lakhin is married to an American named Jill, and he hopes to extend his basketball career to the professional level.

And if that doesn't work out he'll try to make it big as a comedian.

Former Clemson star Patrick Sapp watched a large number of the recent spring practices for the Tigers.

Sapp is closer to the team than usual because his son Josh plays tight end for Clemson.

Sapp gives his extended thoughts and insights on what he observed, and where he thinks the Tigers are headed in Year 17 under Dabo Swinney.

Last August, Sapp was bullish on the idea that Cade Klubnik and the offense had made real progress and would shine in 2024.

That conviction proved true, as the Tigers' final act was stressing an elite Texas defense in ways the Longhorns hadn't been pushed previously.

Sapp also shares why he's spent so much of his time and passion on helping Clemson athletes set themselves up for success after their playing careers end.

When Sapp played for Clemson in the 1990s, there was no PAW Journey and almost nothing devoted to helping him and other athletes develop relationships that could lead to real-world occupations.

That's changed in a big way over the years and Sapp is an integral part of it.

On Monday at Holly Tree Country Club in Simpsonville, Sapp will preside over the One Clemson Golf Tournament that will include Dabo Swinney, Charlie Whitehurst, CJ Spiller and other Clemson luminaries.

One Clemson helps transition Clemson student-athletes to their careers by providing meaningful work experience and community-service opportunities.

For more information go to one-clemson.com.

Bobby Couch had a big job at Clemson when he was a major fundraiser for IPTAY.

But that's not what Dan Radakovich was angry about when he called Couch to his office one day a decade or so ago.

Radakovich wanted to talk to Couch about his other, more unofficial job: Commissioner of the Noon Time Basketball Association.

The NTBA, played on weekdays, was largely athletics department staffers and personnel from the football and basketball teams.

But one day an outsider showed up wearing Gamecock gear, and Dabo Swinney gave him some grief over it. The guy didn't take kindly to it, and the confrontation got nasty and was about to get physical.

The spat was resolved, but it got the attention of Radakovich and the ritual NTBA games were put on a lengthy hiatus while Couch could trim the roster of invitees.

"Here I am getting called to the principal's office not as a senior associate director of IPTAY, but for my role as NTBA commissioner," Couch said. "He's basically telling me I've got to shut this thing down.

"Of course the first person who called me after we shut it down and asked me what the heck was going on was Coach Swinney, because he wanted to get back out on the court. I'm like: 'Hey dude. We had to shut this thing down because of you.'"

Couch also remembers Brent Venables showing up to a noontime game wearing a mouthpiece.

The ferocious Venables ended up accidentally jabbing Couch in face and giving him a huge black eye. Two days later, Couch had to speak to a large donor group the day the Tigers were facing Georgia in Athens.

Those are just two of many memories that come flooding back about the NTBA days with Clemson (and NTBA) alum Will Wade about to face Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

We also interview Chad Lampman, a Clemson alum who preceded Couch as NTBA commissioner before he left for a position at Duke where he's been for 15 years.

And UNC Asheville basketball coach Michael Morrell joins the podcast to share his most vivid memories of the NTBA.

To Morrell, those games encapsulated the rare bond at Clemson shared among the staffs regardless of sport.

"There's just something different about that place, man," said Morrell, who was on Oliver Purnell's staff. "There's just something different there that's special.

"I always thought it was cool how the football and basketball staffs there found ways to have relationships. I was on the basketball staff at Texas for three years, and no offense to Texas but I didn't even know the football coaches there. Didn't even know them.

"But at Clemson you knew everybody, man. And it still seems like it's the same for them there now. Gosh, man. What a cool place to be a player, a coach, a writer or whatever. Because it's not that way everywhere."

Tom Allen has been a breath of fresh air around Clemson's football program as he injects authority and energy that were lacking before Dabo Swinney hired him from Penn State.

He's already gone back and watched plenty of film from last year, including of the first two practices. He didn't like what he saw.

Allen goes in-depth on his task at his new job and how it differs from the objective he had a year ago when he took over the Nittany Lions.

Will Heldt made a big splash by signing with Clemson out of the transfer portal, and he's made an even bigger one over the past couple months during intense workouts and practices.

Bottom line after he won just five games the past two years at Purdue: He's hungry to win big, and that hunger has rubbed off on a group of returning players who have won a lot but not enough for their liking.

Jock McKissic's new book looks like it could've been written by Dabo Swinney.

That's how much impact McKissic's former coach has had on his life, from his career as a Clemson defensive lineman from 2005 to 2008, all the way to this day.

In 50 Principles to Thrive in Life From Half-Full to Overflowing, McKissic explores themes such as The Coffee Bean Principle, why comfort is your greatest enemy, and how to control the controllables.

But the most meaningful chapter to McKissic is: "Flowers for the living -- why waiting until it's too late to appreciate people is the biggest regret of all."

"I give my male peers flowers," McKissic said. "Because most men don't get flowers until they're dead. I don't want anybody around me to get their first bouquet of flowers when they're at their own funeral."

McKissic, who conducted the interview from a DMV parking lot in Los Angeles, also explores the other parts of a life that has ventured far from his roots in Alabama and Clemson.

McKissic was born in Opelika, Ala. His mother Cynthia D. Smith took notice to his love for entertaining early. Jock began acting in church & school plays at age 7. His love for the craft would continue to flourish, but took a back seat to sports once he reached high school. During his tenure at Clemson University, McKissic would occasionally join the improv team on campus for events. In 2012 he found his way back to the camera on USA television show, Necessary Roughness. After retiring from football later that year, Jock took on acting full time. His resume continues to expand, but not only as an actor; as a writer and director as well.