Bill Belichick names Billy Edwards Jr. UNC football starting quarterback

Heading into an all-important second season as North Carolina's football coach, Bill Belichick has settled on a starter at the game's most important position. Graduate student Billy Edwards Jr., who transferred into the program from Wisconsin in January, has been named the Tar Heels' starting quarterback for their 2026 season opener against TCU on August 29 in Dublin, Ireland, the Fayetteville Observer, a part of the USA TODAY Network, confirmed on Tuesday, August 18. ESPN was the first to report the decision. REQUIRED READING: Bill Belichick, UNC football adjusting amid Michael Lombardi, Steve Belichick absences The 23-year-old Edwards beat out Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill, freshman Travis Burgess and redshirt freshman Au'Tori Newkirk for the position. He'll help pilot an offense that will be under the guidance of a familiar name and face to college football fans — Bobby Petrino, whom Belichick hired in January. Edwards made two starts at quarterback last season for Wisconsin, completing just seven of 16 passes for 113 yards. He was the Badgers' starter heading into the season, but suffered a knee injury in their first game, a 17-0 win against Miami (Ohio). Prior to that, he spent three seasons at Maryland. As the Terrapins' starter in 2024, he completed 65% of his passes for 2,881 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, along with 150 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Edwards began his college career at Wake Forest, where he redshirted in 2021 before transferring to Maryland. Among the many disastrous aspects of Belichick's first season at North Carolina was shoddy quarterback play. Gio Lopez and Max Johnson combined to average just 6.3 yards per passing attempt for an offense that averaged just 19.3 points per game, ranking it 120th among 136 FBS teams. Both players transferred out after the season, with Lopez at Wake Forest and the 25-year-old Johnson at Georgia Southern. The Tar Heels went just 4-8 last season, including a 2-6 mark in ACC play. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Bill Belichick names Billy Edwards Jr. UNC football starting quarterback