National media outlet says new UNC football coach Bill Belichick should try to steal key commit from the Tennessee Vols
The North Carolina Tar Heels officially hired legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick as the program's new head coach on Wednesday. Belichick has never coached at the collegiate level, but UNC is hoping that six-time Super Bowl winning coach can thrive in a new age of college football (where money can often be more important […]
The North Carolina Tar Heels officially hired legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick as the program's new head coach on Wednesday.
Belichick has never coached at the collegiate level, but UNC is hoping that six-time Super Bowl winning coach can thrive in a new age of college football (where money can often be more important than recruiting relationships).
After UNC announced the hire, Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney suggested that Belichick should immediately target 2026 five-star Tennessee Vols quarterback commit Faizon Brandon.
Brandon has been committed to Tennessee since August.
From Rivals.com: The 2026 five-star quarterback committed to Tennessee in August and Vols coach Josh Heupel has done well recruiting QBs to Knoxville including five-star Nico Iamaleava, the current starter, and maybe Belichick has never coached a QB quite like Brandon but it would still be a compelling case to flip to North Carolina. The Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley five-star lives about an hour from Chapel Hill, he could be the future face of the in-state school and he could play for the greatest football coach of all time at least early in his career as Belichick is on a three-year contract.
Brandon, 6-foot-4/197 lbs from Greensboro, NC, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
North Carolina is a program that Brandon heavily considered during the recruiting process, but it would be a bit of a surprise if he showed serious interest in the Tar Heels now that Belichick is on board. There's too much uncertainty swirling around Belichick and the Tar Heels — how will a 72 year old who has never coached at the collegiate level adjust to managing a program made up of 18 to 22 year olds — for a player like Brandon to suddenly jump ship from a College Football Playoff caliber program.
You never say never in recruiting, but I don't think Tennessee fans have much to worry about with Belichick taking a job just an hour east of one of the Vols' top commits.
