Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels continue to make waves on the recruiting circuit.
Bill Belichick's debut campaign at Chapel Hill was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, as the North Carolina Tar Heels went just 4-8 and were dealt a handful of humiliating blowout losses.
Belichick took the job at North Carolina in December 2024 and did not have much time to build a proper roster for his inaugural season, so perhaps we should not be too surprised with the initial results.
But now, Belichick is feeling the heat. He knows he must begin turning things around in 2026, or his time with the Tar Heels could be short lived.
Well, Belichick has apparently taken that to heart, as he has been incredibly active on the recruiting trail, putting together a top-20 class for 2026 and getting a head start on 2027.
Not only has UNC already secured three commitments for the class of 2027, but it has also recently been making finalist lists left, right and center, and this week, North Carolina struck yet again.
Four-star 2027 defensive lineman Zane Rowe just released his list of four finalists as he attempts to wind down his recruitment, and the Tar Heels qualified. Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington were the other three schools.
Rowe is the 13th-ranked edge rusher and the 93rd-ranked player nationally in the class of 2027, via 247 Sports' composite rankings. He is also the 11th-ranked player in the state of Texas.
Because UNC is not known as a football school, seeing its name regularly mentioned for elite prospects is definitely different.
That being said, 2025 actually represented the first time North Carolina did not qualify for a bowl game since 2018, so again, Belichick's first foray into the college coaching world certainly did not go according to plan.
Somewhere, Mack Brown was probably getting a pretty good laugh out of watching Belichick and the Tar Heels flounder so much back in the fall.
There is plenty of time for Belichick to change things, however, and based on how effective he has been on the recruiting circuit, he appears to be in the process of doing just that.
Of course, until Belichick actually lands all of the players who have named North Carolina as a finalist and until his committed recruits actually get on the field and produce, it doesn't mean a whole lot.
But it's absolutely a good sign to see the program so active.
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