Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels have made a big move at quarterback.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are still trying to get things figured out under center, and last month, they appeared to land their 2026 starter in Billy Edwards.
But with the spring right around the corner, North Carolina just bagged some potentially major competition for Edwards.
The Tar Heels have made a late transfer portal addition, bagging former Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens.
Dickens threw for 3,508 yards, 38 touchdowns and a couple of interceptions while completing 74.2 percent of his passes last season.
That included Dickens completing an NCAA record 46 straight passes during a win over Wofford back in October. He went 53-for-56 on the day, totaling 378 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Dickens arrived at Western Carolina back in 2023 and redshirted after his first season. He then registered 1,428 yards, 12 touchdowns and three picks in 2024 before completely breaking out this past year.
To go along with his remarkable throwing accuracy, Dickens is also a dual threat, having rushed for 321 yards and a score in 2025.
North Carolina Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick. Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images.Dickens is the third signal-caller to join North Carolina via the transfer portal this offseason, with Edwards (who previously played for Maryland and Wisconsin) and former Texas A&M quarterback Miles O'Neill representing the other two.
While Edwards may be the favorite to begin the 2026 campaign under center for the Tar Heels due to his experience in the Big Ten, it stands to reason that Dickens could ultimately establish himself as the starter next fall.
There will certainly be an open competition for North Carolina in camp this year, so it will be interesting to see how things unofld.
UNC went just 4-8 in Bill Belichick's debut campaign last season, suffering several embarrassing blowout losses.
However, Belichick deserves some grace for his failed 2025 showing considering it was his first year ever coaching on the collegiate level.
The NFL legend has now had some time to properly build a team and has put together a top-20 recruiting class for 2026, so we'll see if the Tar Heels demonstrate significant improvement in Year 2 of the Belichick era.
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