Bill Belichick, North Carolina Tar Heels name starting QB

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bill Belichick, North Carolina Tar Heels name starting QB

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Aug 18, 2026 11:00 PM ET

Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels have decided on the starting quarterback heading into the 2026 season.

They came into fall camp with an open competition between grad transfer Billy Edwards Jr., redshirt sophomore transfer Miles O'Neill and true freshman quarterback Travis Burgess.

Edwards Jr. had transferred to UNC from an injury-shortened stint with the Wisconsin Badgers, while O'Neill spent the first two seasons of his college career with the Texas A&M Aggies.

Burgess was a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 9 quarterback in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports.

This was a big decision for head coach Bill Belichick considering the expectations placed on the multi-time Super Bowl winner compared to UNC's 4-8 campaign last season.

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Belichick went with the most experienced quarterback of the group.

On Tuesday, Edwards Jr. named the starting quarterback for North Carolina's season opener against TCU.

Sources: North Carolina has named veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr. the team’s starter for the opener, and he’ll debut for the Tar Heels against TCU in Ireland. Edwards won a close battle with Miles O’Neill, a Texas A&M transfer who has familiarity with new OC Bobby Petrino. pic.twitter.com/r0hLBVzgoJ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 18, 2026

Billy Edwards Jr. to start at QB for Bill Belichick and North Carolina Tar Heels

Edwards, 23, got hurt on a noncontact play in Wisconsin's season opener in 2025, so he never really got to show the Badgers what he was capable of after transferring to Madison from Maryland.

That worked out for UNC, because he was granted a medical redshirt and a sixth year of eligibility, and he decided to use it playing for Belichick.

In 2024 for Maryland, Edwards threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns (nine interceptions) while also rushing for five scores.

He's a big quarterback checking in at 6-foot-3, 228 pounds, and the Tar Heels are undoubtedly hoping that he'll be able to recapture the form that allowed him to rank second in the Big Ten with 261.9 passing yards per game in 2024.

North Carolina's opener against TCU is part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic and will be played in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 29.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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