North Carolina names Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr. as starting QB

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Billy Edwards Jr. will be North Carolina's starting quarterback when the Tar Heels play TCU in Dublin on Aug. 29.

Per ESPN, Edwards was named the team's starter on Tuesday after a fall camp competition with Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill. Edwards went to North Carolina in the offseason after previous stops at Maryland and Wisconsin.

Edwards appeared in just two games in 2025 for the Badgers after he suffered a knee injury against Miami (Ohio) in Week 1. He threw three passes in the Badgers' Week 4 loss to Maryland and didn't appear in a game the rest of the season. Overall, Edwards was 7-of-16 passing for 113 yards in that very limited playing time.

UNC coach Bill Belichick overhauled the team's quarterback room again following the 2025 season. After Belichick was hired at the end of the 2024 season, the Tar Heels added former South Alabama QB Gio Lopez and freshman QB Bryce Baker. Lopez started in Week 1 ahead of Max Johnson.

All three of those players transferred away this offseason. Lopez is at Wake Forest, Baker transferred to Virginia Tech, and Johnson is playing his seventh season of eligibility at Georgia Southern.

North Carolina went 4-8 in 2025 as its QBs threw for just 2,202 yards and 13 TDs. Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns, was replaced after just one season by Bobby Petrino. The former Arkansas coach spent the past two seasons as the Razorbacks' offensive coordinator and was the team's interim coach at the end of the 2025 season following Sam Pittman's firing.

Edwards spent the first three seasons of his career at Maryland and had his best season in 2024. He appeared in 11 games that season and completed 65% of his passes for 2,881 yards and 15 TDs with 9 interceptions. He also rushed for five more scores.

After opening the season against TCU, North Carolina has games against Clemson, Notre Dame and Miami before November. The Tar Heels' schedule is one of the most difficult in the ACC and could make a bowl game a farfetched possibility.

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