UNC officially announced the signings of 39 high school and junior college prospects Wednesday at the Kenan Football Center. The Tar Heels’ class is ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 3 in the ACC by 247 Sports. Of schools with classes ranked inside the Top 50, only West Virginia signed more players Wednesday. Of the 39 signees, 13 are ranked as four-star prospects and 26 as three-star prospects.
Head coach Bill Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi each spoke to the media Wednesday evening. Here are some takeaways from their comments:
“Our first class”
Both Belichick and Lombardi expressed optimism that the Class of 2026 would set the standard for what their vision for the program is. Both went to great lengths to stress that when Belichick and Lombardi were brought on board nearly 365 days ago, they were not fully equipped to hit the ground running on the recruiting trail.
“This class represents our first class,” said Lombardi. “[It] represents finding what we want, and that goes along with the Hall of Fame coach to be able to develop the talents from within.”
“They will be a foundation for our program,” Belichick said. “They represent the values that we stand for. At least, that’s the way we feel at this time. That’s why we recruited those players, and it really transcends the entire football team.”
Quarterback questions
One of the most notable UNC signees in the Class of 2026 is quarterback Travis Burgess from Grayson High School in Georgia. A four-star recruit ranked among the nation’s Top 100 players by 247 Sports, Burgess was a highly-coveted prospect who chose Carolina over schools such as Auburn and NC State. But Burgess’ senior year was shortened by a season-ending injury, casting further uncertainty over the already murky quarterback position at UNC. With starter Gio Lopez coming off an uninspiring 2025 campaign and backup Max Johnson graduating, Lombardi was asked what the addition of Burgess means for the quarterback room.
“We’re gonna spend a lot of time on every position and evaluate every position correctly and then understand where we need to go forward,” Lombardi said. “[Burgess] missed most of his senior season with his injury, so that has to play into account. We’re gonna make decisions, what we think is the best interest of our program moving forward, based on what we think is needed for our team. And we don’t really know what is going to happen tomorrow because the [transfer] portal doesn’t open up until January.”
Rebuilding in the trenches
When first hired last year, Lombardi and Belichick both stressed the importance of building a football team from the “inside out,” meaning solidifying both lines of scrimmage. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, numerous injuries and several midseason departures from the program depleted the offensive line early. Now, the program will enter 2026 losing, at minimum, four starters from the offensive line. To combat that, UNC signed six offensive linemen Wednesday, including one prospect who hails from Belichick’s old workplace: Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Prioritizing the secondary
Nine of UNC’s 39 signees – nearly a quarter of the entire class – listed defensive back as their primary position. As things currently stand, Carolina will lose both of its top two cornerbacks – Marcus Allen and Thad Dixon – and both of its top two safeties – Will Hardy and Gavin Gibson. Of the defensive backs who signed, 247 Sports ranks cornerback Kenton Dopson from Miami as the best prospect. Dopson chose the Tar Heels over a host of other schools, including in-state bluebloods Florida State, Florida and Miami.
Faith rewarded?
Lombardi was clearly impressed by the Class of 2026’s enthusiasm for becoming Tar Heels, despite a 4-8 season which featured as much noise off the field as on it. For his part, Lombardi hit back at reports of a toxic environment inside the Kenan Football Center, calling them “inaccurate.” Previously, Belichick had called such reports “fake news” and “garbage.”
“They understood what was going on in our building and they understood what Coach Belichick was doing,” Lombardi said of the UNC recruits. “And they had meetings with Coach Belichick and they knew what Coach Belichick’s coaching was. There’s a lot of people that pretend to be experts that have no idea. The people that I really respect in this class are the kids that came in here that really said, ‘We know what’s going on in that building. We understand what’s going on. Nobody’s gonna deter us.’ Now look, let’s be clear, everybody that you recruits against uses it against you, you know? And it didn’t bother them and they had conviction of their heart because they saw it with their own eyes. The stories never matched.”
Early enrollees
Belichick indicated that “most” of the signing class would be joining the program as early enrollees in January, effectively getting a six-month head start on their college football careers and participating in the spring practice season. Lombardi provided a specific number, saying only three of the 39 players would not be enrolling early.
“Which is really remarkable,” Lombardi said. “It’s great. “It’s a tribute to the kids who prepare themselves to get out early.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Aaron Beard
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