The North Carolina Tar Heels will kick off the 2026 season in just under two weeks as they travel to Ireland to face off against TCU. It will mark the second season of the Bill Belichick era and the hope is that the second goes better than the first did.
As we inch closer to kickoff, the Tar Heels have finally reached a resolution with their quarterback situation.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday that Billy Edwards Jr. has been named the starting quarterback for the Week 0 game. Inside Carolina confirmed the report shortly after as Edwards has won the battle in training camp.
Sources: North Carolina has named veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr. the team’s starter for the opener, and he’ll debut for the Tar Heels against TCU in Ireland. Edwards won a close battle with Miles O’Neill, a Texas A&M transfer who has familiarity with new OC Bobby Petrino. pic.twitter.com/r0hLBVzgoJ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 18, 2026
Edwards transferred from Wisconsin this offseason and beat out Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill, returning redshirt freshman Au’Tori Newkirk and true freshman Travis Burgess for the job. He has the most experience of the four who were in the competition.
In 2024, Edwards threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Badgers.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football names starting quarterback