Billy Edwards Jr. has won the starting quarterback job at North Carolina for its season opener against TCU in Ireland. The decision gives North Carolina a veteran option before Aug. 29 and ends a competition that included Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill and freshman Travis Burgess.
Edwards arrives with more recent production than either challenger. He passed for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024 for Maryland, a season that showed the kind of command North Carolina wanted when it turned to him for the first snap of Bill Belichick’s second season.
Belichick had tried to keep the race open. On Aug. 14, he said he did not think there was a leader in the clubhouse and called the battle very competitive, adding that the quarterbacks had all produced strong moments and a few plays they would want back, as teams usually do. He had also said earlier that Edwards brought more experience than the rest of the Tar Heels’ quarterbacks, including Au'Tori Newkirk, combined, but he had not set a timetable for the choice.
That hesitation made the final call more telling. Belichick said the staff would decide once the answer became apparent and clear, and he also emphasized that the quarterbacks would be judged in part on avoiding negative plays rather than chasing highlight throws. In that light, Edwards’ edge makes sense: he is the most proven college passer in the group, while O’Neill is coming in from Texas A&M and Burgess is still a freshman learning on the job.
The background on Edwards is part of why the decision lands with weight. He transferred to North Carolina after time at Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Maryland, and injuries limited his time as Wisconsin’s starter in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Even so, the numbers he put up at Maryland last year gave North Carolina something the competition lacked: a quarterback who has already handled a full workload and produced.
North Carolina now goes into the final stretch before the opener with its plan set. Edwards has the job for TCU in Ireland, and the only remaining question is whether he turns that vote of confidence into separation once the games start.
