Seasoned veteran Billy Edwards Jr. secures the starting nod for North Carolina, forcing a shorthanded Horned Frogs secondary to prepare for a sixth-year playmaker in Dublin.
TCU football can officially put a name to the quarterback it'll be preparing for in Dublin. And he's certainly not short on experience.
North Carolina has named veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr. its starting quarterback for the Aug. 29 season opener against the Horned Frogs in Ireland, sources told ESPN.
Edwards won what ESPN described as a close competition with Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill for the job.
That gives TCU a pretty clear idea of what to expect with a little more than a week remaining before kickoff.
Edwards is entering his sixth season of college football after a career that has already taken him from Wake Forest to Maryland, Wisconsin and now North Carolina.
But most of Edwards' starting experience was built at Maryland.
Edwards became the Terrapins' full-time starter in 2024 and threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns.
One of his best performances came against USC.
Edwards completed 39 of 50 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns in Maryland's 29-28 upset of the Trojans before scoring the game-winning touchdown himself on a three-yard run with 53 seconds remaining.
That's the quarterback TCU's defense will now spend the final days of preseason camp preparing to face.
Edwards transferred to Wisconsin following the 2024 season and won the Badgers' starting job, but injuries limited his season to two appearances.
He suffered an injury during Wisconsin's 17-0 season-opening win over Miami (Ohio). Edwards attempted to return against Maryland on Sept. 20 but exited because of the injury and did not play again in 2025.
Edwards was granted a sixth year of eligibility after receiving a medical redshirt for his injury-shortened season at Wisconsin.
Now he'll get another opportunity to lead an offense, and TCU will be the first defense tasked with stopping him.
The timing makes the announcement particularly relevant for a Horned Frogs secondary that just lost one of its most accomplished offseason additions.
TCU dismissed Louisiana Tech transfer safety Jacob Fields earlier this week for a violation of team rules.
Fields was Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 and had been competing for the starting free safety job, meaning the Horned Frogs are already adjusting their plans on the back end with the opener approaching.
Now they know who will be testing those plans first.
There's also a little familiarity between these two programs.
TCU and North Carolina opened the 2025 season against each other in Chapel Hill, with the Horned Frogs cruising to a 48-14 victory.
This time they'll travel considerably farther to settle things.
And when TCU takes the field in Dublin on Aug. 29 looking to make it two straight over North Carolina, Edwards will be the quarterback standing on the other side.
