Bill Belichick bolsters QB room by recruiting a lefty play-caller
The North Carolina Tar Heels are looking to bolster their roster for the future in coach Bill Belichick's first season with the program. While he has been on the recruiting ground and looking toward the future, it appears that Belichick may have found his future quarterback.
Quarterback Au'Tori Newkirk posted a picture of himself with Bill Belichick on his social media, announcing on Tuesday afternoon that he has committed to the Tar Heels.
Newkirk was the 2023 Abe Goldblatt All-Tidewater Football Player of the Year and even won a handful of Offensive Player of the Year awards. The 2023 season was his first year as the starting quarterback, and he led the team to a Virginia state championship with a perfect 15-0 record.
Au'tori Newkirk displayed an excellent performance in 2023 as he completed 175-of-256 (68.3%) of his passes for 44 passing touchdowns to five interceptions. He also ran for 750 yards with 13 additional touchdowns on the ground. Newkirk was also offered by the following schools before committing to North Carolina:
- Hampton Pirates
- Howard Bisons
- Elon Phoenix
- Delaware State Hornets
- William & Mary Tribe
- UMass Minutemen
- Toledo Rockets
- Temple Owls
- North Carolina Central Eagles
- Norfolk State Spartans
Who will be the starting quarterback for the North Carolina Tar Heels next season?
The first year of Bill Belichick on the sidelines for the North Carolina Tar Heels will see some changes at quarterback from what they had last season. Jacolby Criswell, Michael Merdinger, and Conner Harrell all entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and left the program.
The team will be adding Ryan Browne from Purdue in the NCAA Transfer Portal, but it appears that the Tar Heels are going to have senior quarterback Max Johnson as the starting quarterback after suffering a broken leg in the 2024 college football season opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and missing the remainder of the season.
While Belichick may want to have more competition for the starting quarterback spot, they have DJ Mazzone and Ben Bastek still on the roster from last year as well. It will be interesting to see if Max Johnson will be the starting quarterback for the 2025 season or if Belichick has another player under center to begin the year.