UNC football class of 2026 commit has impressive 2025 debut on Friday night
The North Carolina Tar Heels are no stranger to landing high-profile quarterback recruits. Just ask Drake Maye and Sam Howell, who are both now NFL quarterbacks.
UNC signed another highly-touted QB in its 2025 recruiting class: in-state, 4-star recruit Bryce Baker. Currently, 4-star quarterback Travis Burgess is one of North Carolina's most exciting, class of 2026 prospects.
Speaking of Burgess, his senior high school season began with an exciting debut last Friday. In Grayson High School's 51-3 domination of Suwanee Collins Hill High, Burgess scored four touchdowns: three through the air, plus one on the ground.
Burgess' TD passes went for 74, 32 and 23 yards, while his touchdown run accounted for 41 of his 96 rushing yards. Not a bad way to start your final year of high school ball.
While Burgess tears his way through Georgia this fall, the Tar Heels have a quarterback battle they need to quickly solve.
UNC returns initial 2024 starter Max Johnson, but he spent most of last season – and a good portion of this offseason – recovering from a broken leg sustained against Minnesota. North Carolina addressed this by adding Gio Lopez, a dual-threat southpaw quarterback, from South Alabama in the transfer portal. Baker could see action, too, while the Tar Heels also have freshman Au'Tori Newkirk and Gary Merrill in the QB room.
Johnson is gone next season, so that leaves Lopez, Baker, Newkirk, Merrill and Burgess up for UNC's 2026 starting QB gig. If Burgess continues to deliver performances like Friday night's, Bill Belichick might want to consider giving a true freshman the keys to his offense.
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