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Billy Edwards Jr. is the son of a teacher, which informs the way he absorbs information and also provides him with the materials to do it. He’s a fan of flashcards. And teachers have no shortage of those.
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In the last year alone, learning new systems at Wisconsin and now the University of North Carolina, he’s written out about 1,000 of them. Different terminologies, a new playbook.
“It’s kind of humbling when you come in the beginning …” Edwards said. “But I find it really fun. I find it really enjoyable.”
Edwards is used to this. He joined the Badgers last season after a redshirt freshman season at Wake Forest followed by three seasons at Maryland, and was named their starting quarterback before his fifth season. But after playing in only parts of two games due to injury, he entered the transfer portal again and landed at North Carolina, which named the six-year college veteran its starting quarterback for the season opener against TCU at noon in Dublin.
“He’s done a good job,” North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said. “(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 described the moment he found out he was named the starter with a similarly-muted amount of enthusiasm. He said he doesn’t think he told his dad for a few days. He takes a lot of pride in being the person who will lead the charge for the Tar Heels in week zero against the Horned Frogs, yes. But to him, being named the starter ahead of the first game “wasn’t that big of a deal.”
He said he felt the same when he was the starting quarterback for Maryland in 2024: He takes everything one day at a time, and doesn’t get too high or too low.
“I think when people are in the huddle, when people are in this facility,” Edwards said, “you can see the same consistent, kind of steadfast Billy.”
Edwards joined the Tar Heels in January, seeking a place where he could compete and grow. Belichick said all the quarterbacks have benefitted from being around for the entirety of spring practices, which allowed them to get reps UNC’s quarterbacks a season ago didn’t have after Belichick was hired in December 2024. Belichick said on Friday that Edwards was the most consistent with those reps.
Star wide receiver Jordan Shipp said he’s a fan of all the quarterbacks that were competing for the spot, and doesn’t see a big difference between them. But Edwards has been playing football in college for a while. There’s not a lot he hasn’t seen.
That could help avoid the bad plays, which is something Belichick noted on Aug. 14 that his former quarterback, NFL legend Tom Brady, did well. Edwards expanded on that on Monday, noting that Belichick shared that Brady would also turn a bad play into an ugly play for defenses when given the opportunity. As Edwards readies to lead the room against TCU, it’s been a consistent talking point in film and on the field.
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“And obviously, it’s easy to go back there and watch Tom Brady film,” Edwards said, “try and learn from him and take everything you can from Coach Belichick, who has obviously been coaching for a while.”
UNC announced on Aug. 6 that defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, Bill Belichick’s son, was placed on medical leave. Six days before the first game of the season, Steve remains absent. But Bill Belichick was unwilling to provide additional information on his son’s status or if he will handle the playcalling duties should Steve miss UNC’s opening game.
“Yeah, no updates,” Belichick said when asked if there was an update to Steve’s status now that UNC is in game week.
“Yeah, I’m not really going to talk about that situation,” Belichick added when asked about the playcalling duties. “We’ll work it out.”
Belichick added later that he has plenty of experience calling plays for all of offense, defense and special teams, but that he trusts his staff.
“I have a lot of confidence in them,” Belichick said, “but if I need to do anything, I feel confident doing it.”
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed an injunction from a Colorado judge that allowed class of 2022 players to receive a fifth year of eligibility on Friday, which had a negative impact on the UNC kicking room. At the time of the ruling, fifth-year kicker Rece Verhoff was not part of an individual lawsuit, which meant he was not automatically eligible for a fifth season.
Verhoff remains rostered, though. And according to Belichick, he could remain practicing.
“He is eligible to practice with the team,” Belichick said.
Verhoff went 19-for-23 on field goals last season. Belichick did not have an update on Verhoff’s eligibility to play.
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“It’s in the courts,” the Tar Heels coach said.
This story was originally published August 24, 2026 at 5:42 PM.