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7x Super Bowl winning UNC head coach Bill Belichick set to receive an addition to his 2025 Class following the reclassification of 4-star RB

Modified Apr 25, 2025 22:02 GMT

UNC Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick received an important addition to his 2025 recruiting class. This is following the reclassification of four-star running back Jaylen McGill.

On Friday, McGill announced he will reclassify from 2026 to 2025 and enroll in college in time to take his first snap this fall. He made this known through a post on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote:

“I’m So Grateful To Announce That I Have Reclassified Into The Class Of 25’! I Plan To Take My First Snap This Fall Sep 1 In The Backfield With The Tarheels! Thank You.”

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The Mountain View (Spartanburg, SC) running back had announced his commitment to Belichick's side on Apr. 12. He was previously committed to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights before withdrawing his pledge from the program in February. He wrote in a post on X announcing his decommitment:

“I feel like the lord has called me some place else. I’ve prayed about this decision and reflected on my decision. With that being said I’m choosing to reopen my recruiting back up, and I’m decommitting from the University of Rutgers Thank You@RFootball For The Opportunity!❤️

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McGill chose the Tar Heels over prestigious programs, including Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Despite a projection by Rivals to stay at home and play for the Gamecocks, McGill committed to North Carolina.

What Jaylen McGill’s reclassification means for Bill Belichick and UNC

With a 2025 class ranked No. 44 nationally by On3, Jaylen McGill’s reclassification is great news for Bill Belichick and his staff.

Standing 5-foot-10, McGill will forfeit his senior season at Mountain View to enroll in UNC early. He was the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2026 class per 247Sports composite and the No. 18 running back nationally.

McGill played his first two high school football seasons at Broome before transferring to Mountain View ahead of his junior season. In those two seasons, he rushed for 2,638 yards and 47 touchdowns.

As a junior for Mountain View, he rushed for 1,658 yards, adding 279 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 22 catches. He helped the Stars to a 12-1 record and a berth in the Class AAA Upper State championship game.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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