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Comparing Bill Belichick and Deion Sanders' First Recruiting Class
Dec 14, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick is introduced during half time at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The North Carolina Tar Heels are set to enter their first football season with former New England Patriots head football coach, and multi-time Super Bowl winning Head Coach, Bill Belichick. This was one of the biggest headlines, if not the biggest headline, when it came to coaching additions.

Belichick is one of the better coaches in the nation when it comes to the Xs and Os, but fans were quick to share some concerns, as college is far different from the NFL. Sure, in the NFL, you have to play outstanding athletes like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Jefferson, but in the world of college, you have a much larger task than getting your team ready for game days. That task, being recruiting, as it is never-ending, unlike the transfer portal or free agency, if you are still on the topic about the NFL.

While these concerns were visible, Belichick quickly silenced the noise, as he has one of the better classes in the country. While the class isn't over, we are now in a position where we can compare and contrast the first high school classes between Colorado Buffaloes Head Coach and former NFL/MLB star Deion Sanders, and Super Bowl winning Head Coach Belichick.

Sanders First Class at Colorado

Sanders made the transfer portal a priority, which isn't a topic of this discussion. The Buffaloes landed many different commits in the class. They landed one of their highest-rated commitments of all time. That player is current offensive tackle standout Jordan Seaton. Seaton is one of the better offensive tackles in the country and committed to the Buffaloes over the Tennessee Volunteers and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Seaton finished as the 13th player in the nation, according to 247Sports, which made him a five-star. They didn't land a quarterback in the class, as they only landed weapons and defenders. This was primarily since they had a feeling that Shedeur Sanders would be returning for one last season, which he did.

The remainder of the class goes as follows:

• Jordan Seaton
• Kam Mikell
• Micah Welch
• Dre'lon Miller
• Brandon Davis-Swain
• Eric Brantley
• Ben Bouzi
• Brandon Hood
• Kyeran Garcia
• Malakai Murphy
• Yahya Attia
• Cash Cleveland
• Chris Morris

Belichick's First Class at North Carolina

This is the complete opposite. The Tar Heels are one of the schools that have made the most significant impact on the high school recruiting scene. They have landed many different players in the class, who are some of the top priorities for other programs. They have a total of 33 commits at the time of this article. Their top commit in the class is the quarterback commit they are bringing in, Travis Burgess. Burgess is a star at Grayson High School and a certified winner. Burgess helped his team to a near-perfect season, as they only lost one game, and still won the state title over Julian Lewis, who is going to (guess who)... Colorado. The Tar Heels also have some of the better defensive players in the country, as evidenced by one of the top commits in the class, O'Mari Johnson, whom I believe is underrated.

The class goes as follows:

• Travis Burgess
• O'Mari Johnson
• Zavion Griffin-Haynes
• Jayden Griffin-Haynes
• Cooper McCutchan
• Will Conroy
• Trashawn Ruffin
• Eli Rickell
• Jakob Weatherspoon
• Keeyun Chapman
• Carnell Warren
• Ashton Blatt
• Calvin Thomas
• Julian Burns
• Jimmy Phrisco-Suliafu
• Anthony Hall
• Xavier Jackson
• Jamarrion Gordon
• Jaden Jefferson
• Marcellous Ryan
• Aveon Williams
• Zion Smith
• Nick Fiumara
• Keegan Chapman
• Crew Davis
• Kei'Maurii Miles
• David Jackson
• Lawrence Brown
• Mason Wilhelm
• Darien Lewis
• Aidan Woods
• Zamaurious Robertson
• David Green

Overall

The Tar Heels have a deeper class than the Buffaloes did when Sanders first took over. One thing that is worth noting is the fact that the Tar Heels won't put together as strong of a transfer class, as Sanders and the Buffaloes did. They landed 43 transfers in that class, which is one of the most dominant transfer portal classes of all time. Fans can compare the classes and notice that Belichick is doing an excellent job.

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This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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