Belichick Explains the Art of Recruiting at UNC

North Carolina has been on a tear on the recruiting trail, signing 35 players so far in the 2026 cycle — an unusually high number considering most programs sign 25 to 30 high school prospects per class.

Belichick has quieted some of the early skepticism, securing a top-20 recruiting class for 2026 — ranked No. 18 by 247Sports and No. 20 by Rivals. Recently, North Carolina flipped then-Tennessee commit three-star tight end Carson Sneed and gained a commitment from three-star defensive tackle Viliami Moala.

July proved especially productive, as North Carolina picked up commitments from four four-star prospects, highlighted by safety Jakob Weatherspoon, who flipped from Ohio State.

The haul also features linebacker Calvin Thomas, a coveted Texas blue-chipper who chose UNC after a fierce recruiting battle; four-star wide receiver Varnell Warren of South Carolina; and Keeyun Chapman, the nation’s No. 132 overall prospect and the highest-rated player in the Tar Heels’ 2026 class, per On3.

In addition, UNC landed top-10 quarterback Travis Burgess, while four-star defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin ended his recruitment and reaffirmed his commitment to the program.

Belichick has earned magnificent praise for evaluating overlooked players and turned them into key contributors on his squad. Look no further than Tim Brady. Despite Belichick’s recruiting success in Chapel Hill, he has admitted that evaluating high school kids is a tad more difficult than professional players.

“The high school evaluations are harder because there's more of a discrepancy between the players that we're evaluating — you know, powerful, wartime players versus, honestly, other players who aren't even going to play college football,” Belichick said. “High school is probably the end of their football career. So, sometimes it's hard to see what the level of competition is. Of course, you can see a kid in person, which is why we had approximately 4,000 kids on campus in our seven-on-seven camps and in our individual camps.”

He did mention that evaluating college players is less strenuous, but there are still some caveats when it comes to scouting players in the transfer portal.

“The college-out evaluation, I'd say, is a little bit easier, similar to the NFL free agency, where you can see guys playing at a competition level that's more similar to ours,” Belichick said. “In some cases, there are guys that are going to play up, but in other cases, you know, not. We have a couple guys from Penn State and Florida, you know, places like that. So, that's a pretty good competition right there.But we have some other players that have transferred in from, let's say, you know, lower levels. So, that's a little bit more challenging.”

Belichick evaluates more than just talent, considering how a player fits culturally and the character traits he brings to the program.

“We’re watching the same high school film that every other school is watching, and we’re watching the same college transfer film that everybody else is watching,” Belichick said. “Really, it’s up to us to make the right evaluation for us — how the player fits here, not how he fits for another team and their system could be two different things. We have to do what we feel is best for the development of our team — and that’s not just his on-the-field play, but also the other components he brings: his work ethic, leadership, toughness, and so forth. So, it’s challenging.”

Regardless of the difficulty of evaluating, it's clear as a sunny day that Belichick is building a culture through his keen evaluation skills of identifying character, fit and skill.

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