UNC Football: The UNC Quarterback Story the National Media Is Missing
One of the most interesting storylines in Chapel Hill isn’t who wins the quarterback job. It’s who becomes the future.
When Mack Brown returned to North Carolina in 2019, there was excitement around a freshman named Sam Howell. Few expected him to immediately become one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. Yet by the end of his freshman season, Howell had transformed the offense and brought an electricity back to Kenan Stadium that fans had not felt in years.
Could history repeat itself?
Billy Edwards and Miles O’Neill appear to be leading the competition, but do not overlook Travis Burgess or Au’Tori Newkirk. Edwards may provide the experience UNC needs today, but it is not unreasonable to wonder whether O’Neill or Burgess could be the quarterback of tomorrow. How the season begins may determine whether they have opportunities to show that potential sooner than expected.
The prevailing national narrative says no. Most preseason conversations focus on North Carolina’s 4 to 8 finish, the roster turnover, and the difficult rebuild ahead. That is understandable. What is different this time is the spotlight.
If Bill Belichick were not in Chapel Hill, would national college football shows, or even NFL media, be spending this much time dissecting the quarterback competition of a team coming off a four win season? I will not insult your intelligence by answering that rhetorical question.
Belichick changes the equation. Every development around the program is magnified because one of the greatest coaches in football history is now leading it. Even stories that would normally receive only regional attention quickly become national talking points.
That attention has created an interesting contradiction. Many analysts are quick to dismiss UNC’s chances this season, yet they are spending an awful lot of time talking about them.
Maybe they are right. Maybe the Tar Heels are still a year, or even a few years, away. Or maybe, just maybe, there is another young quarterback waiting for his moment, much like Sam Howell did in 2019.
Training camp is not just about naming a starter. It might be the first chapter in discovering North Carolina’s next star.
