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Bill Belichick, North Carolina Predicted to Flip Talented 4-Star Recruit From ACC Team

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:40 AM ET

The hype surrounding Bill Belichick's newest venture with the North Carolina Tar Heels took a hit on Monday after a 48-14 Week 1 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.

However, turning a program around takes time, and one area Belichick has dived deep into is recruiting talented high school players.

So far, North Carolina has already landed two players in the 2027 recruiting class with four-star running back Amir Brown and three-star wide receiver Skylar Robinson.

Belichick is looking to add more talent and has even made a run at cornerback Kenton Dopson, who committed to the Miami Hurricanes on March 13.

North Carolina's efforts to snag him from their fellow ACC team may soon pay off. On Thursday, both Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons of Rivals logged expert predictions for Dopson to flip his commitment to the Tar Heels.

FONG BOMB: Rivals’ @SWiltfong_ has logged an expert prediction for North Carolina to flip elite Miami CB commit Kenton Dopson

Dopson ranks No. 11 NATL. (No. 3 CB) in the 2027 Rivals300.

Read: https://t.co/la4uIyDuYl pic.twitter.com/jOyLR0xtOV
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 4, 2025

It would be a huge addition for North Carolina, as Dopson is a four-star recruit, the No. 6 cornerback, the No. 6 player in Florida and the No. 44 player in the nation, according to Rivals Industry Rankings.

Over the past two seasons, he's been productive for Norland High School, racking up 29 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions, and 16 pass deflections in 18 games.

One interesting aspect of Dopson's recruiting process is that Wiltfong also reports that the cornerback is looking to reclassify into the 2026 recruiting class, meaning he'd hit college a year earlier than expected.

If that's the case and Dopson does flip to North Carolina, he would be part of Belichick's first recruiting class with the program.

So far, he's done well, putting together a 2026 class with 36 commitments, ranking No. 4 in the ACC and No. 18 in the nation.

That marks the first time the Tar Heels have had a top-20 recruiting class since 2022. Adding a talent such as Dopson has the potential to give a significant boost.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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