North Carolina has settled on its quarterback, and the Tar Heels are turning to a familiar name for Maryland fans.
Billy Edwards Jr., who spent three years with the Terps, has been named the starter at North Carolina as head coaches around the country continue announcing their quarterbacks for the 2026 season. Edwards’ path has already taken him from College Park to Wisconsin, and now to his fourth college in six years.
At Maryland, Edwards played in 26 games and took over as the starter for the entire 2024 season. He put together a strong year, finishing third in the Big Ten in passing yards per game at 261.9 and accounting for 20 touchdowns, with 15 through the air and five on the ground.
His time in College Park ended after Malik Washington arrived, prompting Edwards to transfer to Wisconsin. He won the starting job there right away, but an injury in the opener knocked him off track. Edwards later got back on the field and started against Maryland in the Big Ten opener, though he was limited before missing the rest of the season.
Now he’s headed into a new opportunity with North Carolina, where he beat out Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill and freshman Travis Burgess for the job. The Tar Heels are coming off a four-win season in Bill Belichick’s first year as head coach.
In other Maryland news, DeJuan Williams was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, which goes to the nation’s top running backs.
In Other News...
Maryland Just Lost A Veteran Starter Buzz Williams Needed To Replace
Marylands frontcourt planning hit another snag this week as Elijah Saunders moved on after one season in College Park. The graduate student forward had been expected to give the Terps a seasoned presence inside, and his background across San Diego State, Virginia and Maryland made him one of the more experienced options on the roster.
Saunders is eligible for another season after a recent NCAA ruling opened the door for a fifth year, but Maryland no longer has the room to keep him. With incoming recruits and a crowded roster situation already shaping the Terps next steps, the program will have to find another way to fill the veteran role Buzz Williams was counting on. [Read more 🡒]
Marylands 2026 Buzz Comes Down To One Long-Awaited Step
At the midpoint of fall camp, Maryland is starting to get the kind of attention that tends to follow a team with real offseason stability. Mike Locksley and his coordinators have sounded confident about the rosters makeup, pointing to retention and portal additions as the backbone of a group that believes it has more depth than it did a year ago. Even ESPNs Dan Wetzel has taken notice, citing the Terps returning players and overall depth as reasons for optimism after a run of close losses last season.
The next step is less about talk and more about proving it when the spotlight shifts. Maryland has a Big Ten Network preview coming up, a useful checkpoint for a program trying to turn offseason buzz into something sturdier, especially with a favorable schedule sitting in front of it. The roster appears to have the ingredients for a better fall, but the real test is whether all of that continuity can finally translate once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]