Bill Belichick's hand-picked QB recruit has the background to thrive under legendary coach

New York Times

12 hours ago

Playing for Bill Belichick might seem like a daunting proposition for a kid still in high school.
On one hand, Belichick is the greatest coach in NFL history, having won an unprecedented six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. On the other hand, the 73-year-old Belichick's gruff persona, with his monosyllabic utterances at news conferences, has become the stuff of legend.
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Travis Burgess, the 17-year-old son of a retired U.S. Army captain, though, is not your typical high school recruit.
'I know a lot of guys have mixed emotions about Bill Belichick just because they see some of his interviews on the internet, but actually meeting him in person, I got a relationship with him,' said Burgess, a Class of 2026 prospect who committed to North Carolina in May. 'Being able to talk with him and understand him, he is very relatable.'
The quarterback from Georgia said it was Belichick who sold him on the Tar Heels and convinced him North Carolina was the program that could best develop his skills.
When Coach Belichick calls you answer!OV this weekend see yall at Chapel Hill🐏🐏 #TarHeelNation #GoHeels @UNCFootball @grayson_fb #4theG pic.twitter.com/jKU6hb5Yau
— Travis Burgess (@TravisBurgess_) May 29, 2025
Burgess and his parents visited Chapel Hill in May and were blown away by Belichick and his staff. Belichick said to Burgess, 'I'm gonna show you why I wanted to recruit you,' and then proceeded to pull up his game film from the 2024 season, when the quarterback led Grayson High School in Loganville to a 7A state title.
For an hour, Belichick went through Burgess' plays, asking him why he made this read and why he made that read, but also talked about his progress throughout the 2024 season, his first year as the starting quarterback. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Burgess threw 24 touchdown passes with just four interceptions and also ran for four more TDs and almost 600 yards.
When he committed to UNC in late May — picking the Tar Heels over Auburn, NC State and others — he was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 30 quarterback in the country by 247Sports. Now, after an impressive week at the Elite 11 Finals in June, he is a four-star and ranked No. 16 among QBs.
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'He really stood out,' said Elite 11 coach Justin Hoover, who has trained several NFL quarterbacks. 'He was a big riser for me.'
The recruiting process, especially the part connected to the online rankings, can be frustrating for many high school prospects. With quarterbacks, it can be even more soul-crushing since there's a domino effect in play, with most colleges only looking to take one QB per class. Being patient can be difficult for many prospects.
'Honestly, for me, it wasn't because I knew that my time was coming,' he said. 'And just like with me not starting till my junior season, once I got the opportunity you could see, I won a state championship. The rankings never really affected me because I knew my time was coming, whether I was a three- or a four-star. And once you get to college, that stuff doesn't matter. It might help as far as popularity or maybe NIL.'
He actually received his first offer late in his sophomore year from Arizona State.
'They were able to see a little bit of JV film, but they took a chance on me,' he said.
In addition to leading Grayson to a state championship in football, Burgess also helped the Rams win their first title in basketball. His mom, Jennifer, played basketball at Brewton-Parker University, an NAIA school in Mount Vernon, Ga.
'He gets all his athleticism from his mom,' said Burgess' dad, Harold.
Harold, who retired after serving 24 years in the Army, sees Belichick and North Carolina as an ideal fit for his son.
'He's very disciplined,' Harold said. 'He sticks to his routine. Every morning, he does the same routine over and over. Friday nights and Saturday nights, when a lot of his friends are having fun, we're at the house watching film. The next morning, we're getting up, working out. And he's waiting on me in the morning, like, 'Hey dad, let's go!' I think the discipline that he's been around for his entire upbringing will definitely benefit him.'
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The elder Burgess said Travis picked up good habits from being around the military while growing up. But he also credited the culture at Grayson, where he learned the attention to detail required to play the position from JD Davis, the Rams' previous starting quarterback, who recently transferred to Alabama A&M after one season at Western Michigan. As part of his daily routine, Travis will put his phone away for three hours every night to read a book, do homework or watch film, his dad says.
'He sets a goal and he doesn't get distracted,' Harold said. 'Him being around a lot of military people, he's seen how once they have an objective, they try to conquer it. The distractions are minimalized. His ultimate goal is to be in the NFL one day and he knows the little things matter. He's realized that at an early age, it's how you do anything is how you do everything.'
The Burgesses have raised their three children (Travis is the oldest) in a very competitive environment. After each of the kids has a sporting event — whether it's a flag football game for Trinity, an eighth grader and the youngest child, or one of Travis' varsity football games — the family will convene in Harold's Dodge Ram 1500 truck and each rate the performance on a scale of 1-10. It's a tradition Travis' mom implemented.
'In the truck, we keep it real,' Harold said, adding that they've given out some 1s in there.
The Burgesses grew up as Falcons fans, which meant Belichick spoiled what would've been the greatest day in their team's history when his Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit to beat Atlanta in Super Bowl LI in February 2017. The family sees Belichick much differently now that he wears Carolina blue.
Travis describes being recruited by Belichick as 'awesome.' Even though Belichick is best known for his defensive acumen — he also won two Super Bowls as the Giants defensive coordinator — his grasp on all aspects of the game will prove to be a great resource for Burgess. After all, Belichick drafted and helped develop Tom Brady from a sixth-rounder into the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Burgess said he's already reaping the benefits of being part of Belichick's program, meeting often with the coach and the rest of the quarterbacks either by Zoom or in person when he visits the campus.
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'The quarterbacks meet every Wednesday and talk about the game of football,' Burgess said, 'and then they talk about the life of football because there is the physical and the mental, so just being able to sit in there in those meetings with Bill Belichick and the other quarterbacks has been awesome. He could coach any position.'
(Photo courtesy of the Burgess family)