The North Carolina quarterback room needs a look, and it needs one now.
With the Tar Heels heading into a bowl-deciding game against Louisville and three games left in the regular season, this is the point where evaluation matters just as much as results. Billy Edwards Jr. has already given North Carolina a clear answer at the top of the depth chart. What the staff still needs is a read on everyone behind him.
Edwards, a sixth-year senior, has thrown only one interception over the last three games and has played some of the best football of his career during that stretch. Even so, the ceiling is what it is.
He won’t usually carry the offense on his own, and the unit can feel capped with him at quarterback. That’s not a knock so much as a reality.
There are also the limitations that come with his game. Edwards has trouble when pressure gets home, and his upper- and lower-body mechanics don’t always sync up the way they need to for cleaner throws. On top of that, he’s dealing with a fractured pinky in his right hand, something that has clearly affected his passing at times.
That’s why the focus should start shifting toward Miles O’Neil and freshman Travis Burgess. Whether it happens this weekend, next week in Charlottesville, or in the regular-season finale against NC State, Bill Belichick and Bobby Petrino need to start gathering real information on the backups.
No one is saying Edwards should be pulled. That’s not the point.
But with the season winding down, Petrino should find a way to get O’Neil or Burgess at least one series in the coming weeks. If the game turns into a blowout, even better - that opens the door to get all three quarterbacks on the field.
O’Neil brings the big arm and prototypical size. Burgess offers arm talent and athleticism. Those are the traits worth testing in live action, not just on the practice field.
The odds of either one starting right now are slim. Still, with three games left, it shouldn’t be treated as impossible. North Carolina could use the extra data now, especially with a competition between O’Neil and Burgess looming in the spring and next summer.
In Other News...
UNC Gymnastics Just Added A Recruiting Class Fans Will Want To See
North Carolina gymnastics has added a new wave of talent, with head coach Danna Durante announcing three class of 2027 signees who should give the program a fresh boost in the years ahead. Payton Chandler, Brielle Rousseau and Madison Taips arrive with different backgrounds and recruiting profiles, but each brings the kind of upside UNC has been trying to stack in Chapel Hill as the program keeps building under Durante.
The appeal for the Tar Heels goes beyond simply filling out a class. Each gymnast came with a reason for choosing UNC, and the staff is clearly confident the trio can make an impact once they get on campus. For a program looking to keep momentum going, this kind of addition matters not just for depth, but for the long-term shape of what UNC gymnastics can become. [Read more 🡒]
Former Tar Heel Harrison Ingram Just Made His NBA Case Again
Harrison Ingram keeps finding ways to make himself harder to ignore. The former Tar Heel turned in a triple-double for the Salt Lake City Stars in the 2026-27 NBA G League season, filling the box score with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while continuing to show the kind of all-around game that made him such an intriguing prospect in Chapel Hill and beyond.
Ingrams path has already taken him from North Carolina to the NBA, where he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs before getting limited action there, and then onto a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz on Oct. 17, 2026. Performances like this one only strengthen his case for a bigger look, especially for a player whose value has always come from doing a little bit of everything rather than fitting neatly into one box. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Golfs Latest Recruiting Win Says A Lot About The Program
UNC mens golf added another pair of promising pieces to its future this week, with Dawson Lew and Evan Liu both signing scholarship agreements to play in Chapel Hill. The announcement came from head coach Andrew DiBitetto and associate head coach Noah Goldman, and it fits the broader pattern of a program that has continued to target accomplished amateurs with proven rsums and room to grow.
Lew arrives with a strong track record north of the border, including wins at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and the Canadian Mens Amateur. Liu brings his own decorated background from California, where he piled up honors including California Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year, giving UNC two recruits who have already shown they can win before reaching college golf. [Read more 🡒]