How a 72-year-old former NFL coach who has never had to recruit high school and collegiate players will fare at luring talent to Chapel Hill is one of the many questions surrounding Bill Belichick‘s appointment as North Carolina’s head football coach.
Should players wish to join Belichick at UNC, that might not be a problem. In response to a question on his sales pitch to players during his weekly visit on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, Belichick discussed this subject.
“We’ve been talking to a number of players and we have more coming in this week as part of the [transfer] portal. That closes on Sunday,” Belichick explained. “We have guys coming in pretty much every day this week. Still talking to a couple of high school players who signed.”
Among them is quarterback Bryce Baker, who on Saturday reiterated his dedication to the Tar Heels.
Bill Belichick talks about players wanting to join UNC
According to Rivals, Baker is the third-best quarterback prospect in North Carolina and the seventh-best quarterback in the country. It was a major victory for Belichick to keep him committed because he was the top-ranked player in UNC’s 2025 recruiting class. He said:
“The majority of them are transfer players in the portal and that portal will extend a little bit as the College Football Playoffs go and teams get eliminated,” . “We’re selling the program but quite honestly, we’ve had a lot of players and agents coming to us and say, ‘We want to be part of the program,’ ‘Is there a spot for us?’ ‘Would you take this player, that player?’ and so forth.'”
Relationships have already been formed because many of the agents that represent players on the transfer site have also interacted with Belichick and his staff in the NFL.
Belichick’s comments support the theories that he might not be at a recruiting disadvantage and that he might find college football enticing. The way college programs create rosters and recruit athletes has been altered by the transfer portal and NIL (name, image, and likeness).
