Who is UNC's quarterback? Meet Billy Edwards Jr. named new QB1 for Bill Belichick originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The second act of the Bill Belichick experiment at UNC is underway. Pressure for improvement is already mounting for the squad led by an NFL coaching legend, and a new face at quarterback is among the moves the Tar Heels hope will lead to 2026 success.
With last year's QB1 under Belichick, Gio Lopez, heading off to Wake Forest after an up-and-down 2025 season, UNC will be turning to a former Big Ten passer: Billy Edwards Jr.
Edwards landed in Chapel Hill via the transfer portal this offseason, bringing some previous starting experience as the Tar Heels look to bounce back from a four-win season.
Here's what to know about Edwards as he takes the reins of Belichick's UNC offense in 2026.
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Who is UNC's quarterback?UNC's starting quarterback heading into the 2026 season is Billy Edwards Jr. In August, not long before the Tar Heels' Week 0 opener against TCU in Ireland, Belichick named Edwards his QB1, beating out Miles O'Neill for the job.
“He’s done a good job,” Belichick said of his QB decision, per The News & Observor. “(Miles O’Neill), compliments to all those guys, (Travis Burgess). Whoever’s in there did a good job for us in terms of our offense and being productive as they have been in practice and training camp. We had to make decisions. It’s our decision, but that’s what we’re at with them.”
Edwards, 23, brings plenty of past experience to his new role. He's spent time at three schools in the past — Wake Forest, Maryland and Wisconsin — including a starting spot for the Terrapins in 2024 and the Badgers in 2025 before a season-ending injury. He entered the transfer portal after 2025, granted a sixth year of eligibility on a medical redshirt.
Despite coming into Year 6 in college football, Edwards has had just one extensive season as a starter, which came at Maryland. That year, he went 4-7 as the starter with 15 touchdown passes and nine interceptions, plus five scores on the ground, a season highlighted by a 29-28 upset of USC.
Edwards will be the first UNC quarterback under new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, tasked first with beating the Horned Frogs overseas.
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Billy Edwards Jr. career statsBecause of his 2025 injury, Edwards has only made more than two starts in a season on one occasion. Earlier in his collegiate career, he was a backup at Wake Forest and Maryland.
Here's a look at Edwards' career numbers:
SeasonTeamGames (Starts)RecordCompletions-AttemptsCompletion %Passing YardsAVGPassing TDsINTsRatingRushing YardsRushing TDs2021Wake Forest0 (redshirt)——————————2022Maryland7 (2)2-028-4660.9%3136.830139.513612023Maryland8 (1)1-010-3033.3%1284.31173.59172024Maryland11 (11)4-7273-42065.0%2,8816.9159130.114852025Wisconsin2 (2)1-17-1643.8%1137.100103.100Totals:—28 (16)8-8318-51262.1%3,4356.71910126.837513Billy Edwards Jr. recruitingEdwards was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2021, coming out of Lake Braddock Secondary School in Springfield, Virginia.
The 6-foot-3 quarterback originally took his talents to Wake Forest before transferring to Maryland in 2022.
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UNC QB depth chartRankPlayer1Billy Edwards Jr.2Miles O'Neill 3Au'Tori Newkirk4Travis BurgessEdwards won UNC's 2026 starting job over another transfer, O'Neill.
O'Neill landed at UNC this offseason after two years at Texas A&M, appearing in 12 games for the Aggies over 2024 and 2025. He was a three-star recruit coming out of Marblehead, Massachusetts. While O'Neill had past experience being coached by Petrino, he'll be QB2 heading into the season.
Other options for Belichick at the position this season include redshirt freshman Au'Tori Newkirk, who appeared in two UNC games last year, and freshman Travis Burgess, who was a four-star recruit in the past cycle coming out of Georgia.
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