UNC’s Quarterback Room Could Give Belichick Something He Desperately Needs: Hope

Excitement for any upcoming college football season does not start in the spring, summer workouts or even August fall camp. It plants that seed late in the previous season, and the majority of that excitement often rests on the quarterback expected to trot onto the field for the first series of the season.

This happens in different ways. It can be signing a big time prospect in the fall or having a veteran quarterback who has patiently waited for his opportunity to take over the starting role. However, one of the most effective ways to salvage a season and give fans hope is to provide opportunities for the next quarterback to show a glimpse of the future.

This has happened at North Carolina several times over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the coaching staff in 2025 did not hear any of those talking points as the Tar Heels closed the season at 4-8.

Gio Lopez and Max Johnson took the majority of the snaps in 2025, and fans never got to see what Bryce Baker, who ultimately left the program, or Au’Tori Newkirk could do with meaningful opportunities.

The 2026 quarterback room is improved from a talent standpoint, but we still have to take a wait and see approach. There is quiet optimism surrounding the position, but no one is talking as if the next Sam Howell or Drake Maye is taking the field August 29.

That is why it is worth revisiting some memorable moments when a UNC quarterback was given an opportunity late in a season and flashed enough promise to build momentum for the spring and the following season.

My first thought traveled back to 1994 and Mike Thomas, who played primarily as a backup to veteran Jason Stanicek. In the final game of the regular season at Duke and then in the Sun Bowl, Thomas took over for an injured Stanicek and flashed performances that made North Carolina one of the top offenses to watch heading into 1995.

We will pass on recapping what occurred in the Syracuse game that included Donovan McNabb’s first collegiate start.

Ironically, the following season followed a similar path. Mike Thomas struggled at times with turnovers in 1995, giving Oscar Davenport a chance to show what he could do when given the keys to the offense.

Davenport was a true dual threat quarterback who does not get enough credit for the thrower he was during his run in Chapel Hill. A late season injury forced Davenport to miss spring practice, which paved the way for Chris Keldorf to start the 1996 season.

Ironically, a season ending injury to Keldorf gave Davenport another opportunity to start in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia. Davenport had demonstrated enough to UNC fans that whether it was Keldorf or Davenport under center, they believed the Tar Heels would have a chance against anyone in the country heading into 1997.

Fast forward to 2013.

Marquise Williams received valuable game experience in part because of Bryn Renner’s injury during a win over NC State. The following year, the Tar Heels posted a 6-7 record, but Williams completed more than 63 percent of his passes and gave fans something they desperately needed at the time: confidence in the quarterback position.

The defense had too many issues for that team to overcome. The question heading into 2015 was whether a Larry Fedora defense could be good enough to give the offense a chance to win each week.

The Tar Heels ultimately went 11-3 and played for the ACC Championship.

That season also provided another example of how valuable quarterback opportunities can become.

Mitch Trubisky was given opportunities to prove he could be the next great quarterback in a run of quarterback play that had spoiled UNC fans. His throw at Virginia Tech, when he had to replace Williams for a play, remains one of the biggest moments of his career in Chapel Hill.

Trubisky’s play in 2015 had everyone thinking 2016 was going to be special, beginning with a season opening win over Georgia.

Unfortunately, the Tar Heels could not hold onto that lead against the Bulldogs, and a disastrous game at Duke became the beginning of the end for Larry Fedora. It may have taken two more years to finish the book, but looking back, that night in Durham started the process.

The common thread in all of these examples is not that UNC had identified the next great quarterback and immediately handed him the job.

It was that fans were given enough of a glimpse to believe the next season could be different.

That is what Bill Belichick needs from this quarterback room.

No one expects Billy Edwards to walk onto the field August 29 and immediately become Sam Howell or Drake Maye. No one should. Edwards has to prove he can consistently run the offense, protect the football and make the throws required to win games. Miles O’Neill has to prove the same thing if he gets his opportunity.

The issue with Edwards is time. The team needs to play very well with Edwards while also giving O’Neill or Burgess some opportunities to showcase the future. Edwards’ one season in Chapel Hill is not going to provide that glimpse into the future. However, if he is still the quarterback in Week 5 or 6, then the season is likely going better than expected.

One difference this year in fan apathy is that there appears to be enough talent in the room that the quarterback position could become a source of optimism rather than another question mark.

That matters for Belichick.

After a 4-8 season, there is not much patience left among UNC fans. The 2026 season does not need to be perfect to change that conversation, but it does need to provide evidence that the program is moving forward.

A quarterback who gives fans something to believe in can do that faster than almost anything else.

That is why the quarterback opportunities at UNC could ultimately buy Belichick more time with the fan base.

It may not be about winning nine or ten games this season. It may be about creating the belief that nine or ten wins are coming.

Mike Thomas did that.

Oscar Davenport did it.

Marquise Williams did it.

Mitch Trubisky certainly did it.

If Edwards can set sail on the ship and keep it steady, some production from O’Neill or Burgess would give UNC fans a reason to believe in 2027, and Belichick may find that the conversation around his future in Chapel Hill changes considerably.

Because in a program that has spent the better part of two decades looking for its next great quarterback, sometimes a glimpse of what is coming is enough to make people willing to wait.