This month, the North Carolina Tar Heels play football. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and read that first sentence again.
On Saturday, August 29 at 12 p.m. in Dublin, Ireland, UNC faces TCU in a rematch of both teams' 2025 opener. The Horned Frogs quickly squashed any preseason hype shortly into that game, ultimately winning 48-14 and leaving Kenan Stadium quiet.
There's still no decision on North Carolina's starting quarterback, which likely will be decided between a pair of transfers: Billy Edwards and Miles O'Neill.
During practice last week, Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick gave fans a clear picture on when that decision will be made, via 247Sports.
"No set timeline," Belichick said. "Once it becomes apparent, that's when we're going
to make the decision."
UNC offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino answered the same question about his team's starting quarterback battle, giving more of an explanation than the sometimes-reserved Belichick.
"There's two ways you can look at it," Petrino said. "Some people might say, 'You're waiting to make a decision. Does that hurt the starter getting reps?' I look at it as they reported here today, we went out to practice, and the pressure is immediately on all of them, and I think that's a good thing."
From a statistics and experience standpoint, Edwards is the most logical choice. Despite playing just two games for Wisconsin in 2025, Edwards has 3,807 scrimmage yards and 32 touchdowns to his name, including a successful 2024 as Maryland's starter.
O'Neill, in comparison, has just 171 passing yards and two touchdowns across two seasons as a Texas A&M reserve. North Carolina also has Au'Tori Newkirk and Travis Burgess in its QB room.
Will the Tar Heels rotate quarterbacks like they did early in 2025? Or will Belichick name his permanent starter ahead of Week One?
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Timeline revealed for UNC's decision on 2026 starting quarterback
