Bill Belichick explains why UNC recruiting has a ‘very similar’ feel to the NFL: ‘It’s exciting’

Bill Belichick wasted no time gathering new players for his team UNC Tar Heels The team before its inaugural season.

In fact, the biggest question mark concerns Belichick’s sudden jump College football This was his right to enlist in this NIL era.

Well, he’s already delivered a four-star recruit to Chapel Hill in quarterback Bryce Baker, who was introduced at the Tar Heels basketball game on Saturday alongside Belichick.

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New North Carolina State head football coach Bill Belichick speaks to the crowd at the Dean Smith Center during intermission of an NCAA college basketball game between La Salle and North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick discussed the recruiting process and how he tweaked it, which he described as an “interesting process” but something he’s seen before.

“(UNC GM) Mike Lombardi and I were just talking about that — it’s very similar to what we went through in the post-draft process, and at the beginning of the free agency process, all of that rolled into one with the transfer portal,” Belichick explained.

“It’s exciting to be a team.”

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Belichick added that “a number of players” will be coming through Chapel Hill this week as the open transfer portal creates a whirlwind of moves for programs across the country. So, he, Lombardi and the rest of the program are moving quickly to make sure they take advantage of this time to make the cut for 2025.

But when McAfee asked if Belichick was selling this new program to these players, the legendary coach said it was a combination of both.

Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels poses with athletic director Bubba Cunningham during a press conference on December 12, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

“We’re selling the program, but quite frankly, Pat, a lot of players and agents come to us and say, ‘We want to be part of the program.’ Is there a place for us? Would you take this player, that player?” Player? Belichick explained. “A lot of agents also represent players in the transfer portal that we dealt with in National Football League. So a lot of those relationships carry over into college football.”

Belichick is still assembling his coaching staff and evaluating his current roster. It’s certainly a process and one that must be learned quickly, especially considering other programs with their existing coaches have had little head start at UNC with Belichick coming in.

But the 72-year-old already has a top quarterback prospect and more potential roster starters on the way.

North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick at the Loudermilk Center of Excellence. (Photos by Jim Dedmon-Imagine)

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UNC has seven three-star recruits as commitments for the 2025 season, according to Rivals, with Baker being a verbal commitment.

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