Multiple sources have confirmed to Inside Carolina that former Illinois strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez has accepted the same position at North Carolina.
Hernandez spent the last seven seasons at Illinois and is credited with transforming the roster during his time. According to the Illinois official web site, only one player had a power clean exceeding 300 pounds in 2005 and Hernandez grew that number to approximately 40 by 2010.
Here is Hernandez's bio courtesy of the Illinois website. Also check out this short profile on ESPN's Big Ten Blog from 2010.
Hernandez replaces Tim Myslinski who left to take a similar position with the Jacksonville Jaguars. By all accounts this appears to be a solid hire. Hernandez worked with Vic Koenning at Illinois and spent three seasons at Florida when Larry Fedora was an assistant there. He has broad experience at other major college programs as well as being familiar with key figures on the new UNC staff which should aid him in transiting quickly into the program.
As with all coaching hires, the results on the field will be the ultimate judge but at first blush this looks like a clear upgrade over Myslinski.