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Bryce Baker re-affirms commitment to Bill Belichick and North Carolina
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Bryce Baker has had several suitors despite being committed to North Carolina since June 2023, especially after the in-state recruit didn’t sign his NLI during the Early Signing Period following the firing of Mack Brown.
After the Tar Heels’ surprising hiring of Bill Belichick, though, Baker is shutting down his recruitment. He will indeed sign with the program, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
“With Belichick’s experience and connections he can set my teammates (and) I up to surpass our goals (and) more,” Baker told Fawcett.
According to reports, LSU and Penn State were thought to be among the favorites to flip Baker. Baker took an official visit to Penn State and, while he didn’t do the same at LSU, appeared to be in the mix after former commit Bryce Underwood instead signed with Michigan. After a conversation with Belichick, though, Baker will be officially heading to Chapel Hill in Belichick’s first big recruiting win since being named head coach.
The Heels’ quarterback situation is a little cloudy: incumbent starter Jacolby Criswell, who transferred in from Arkansas ahead of the 2024 season for his second stint with the program, has a year of eligibility remaining but hasn’t yet announced his decision for 2025. Backup Conner Harrell entered the transfer portal after 2 seasons, while the Heels’ other scholarship QB, Max Johnson, has exhausted his eligbility.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
