Billy Edwards claims the starting role for Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels, carrying the weight of a high-stakes season opener against TCU and a legacy-defining quarterback battle.
One of the dumbest knocks on Bill Belichick is that he failed to "win" without Tom Brady on the New England Patriots. Of course, the Patriots did make the postseason with quarterback Mac Jones in his rookie season.
Still, Belichick has a losing record, both with the Patriots and Cleveland Browns with another quarterback under center. At North Carolina in 2025, Belichick went 4-8 with Gio Lopez and Max Johnson under center.
The Tar Heels brought in new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino and several new quarterbacks this offseason. UNC started the summer with a competition between Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards and Miles O'Neill.
Per Pete Nakos of On3, UNC will start Edwards against TCU in Week 0 on Aug. 29.
"Source confirms to On3 that Billy Edwards will be QB1 for North Carolina's Week 0 trip to Dublin vs. TCU," Nakos posted on X.
On Friday, Belichick said UNC the battle was competitive, but he wasn't ready to announce a winner.
“I don’t think there’s a leader in the clubhouse, but it’s been very competitive,” Belichick said, via Fayetteville Observer. They’ve all had a lot of really good moments and a couple that they’d probably like to have back, like a lot of us do...
"Certainly, overall on the team, we have guys that have made their move and are getting more playing time. There’s other guys that have to do more to earn that. But the quarterback position is very competitive.”
O'Niell reportedly had a better day than Edwards during a scrimmage over the weekend. However, Edwards was projected by many in the national media to get the job in Week 1.
Edwards, a six-foot-three, 228-pound senior from Springfield, Virginia, went 7 of 16 passing for 113 yards for Wisconsin last season before suffering a knee injury. He spent three years at Maryland before transferring to Wisconsin.
In four years, Edwards has thrown for 3,430 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Belichick will need Edwards to be productive and lead UNC against a tough early schedule of TCU, Clemson, Notre Dame, Pitt, and Duke.
North Carolina will need to show progress this season. If the quarterback position goes bust this fall, Belichick will receive flak for another disappointing development under center without Brady.
