Billy Edwards Jr. named UNC's starting QB for Aug. 29 Dublin opener vs. TCU

The Tar Heels finally have an answer at quarterback, and it's the guy with the most tape. Billy Edwards Jr. has been named North Carolina's starter for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic against TCU on Aug. 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, per Pete Thamel of ESPN and Pete Nakos of On3.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Sources: North Carolina has named veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr. the team’s starter for the opener, and he’ll debut for the Tar Heels against TCU in Ireland. Edwards won a close battle with Miles O’Neill, a Texas A&M transfer who has familiarity with new OC Bobby Petrino.

This wasn't a layup. Edwards beat out Miles O'Neill, a Texas A&M transfer who came in with an edge nobody else in the room had: prior experience running new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino's system. That familiarity made the QB battle a real one all fall camp, and Belichick reportedly took his time before making it official.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Source confirms to @On3 that Billy Edwards will be QB1 for North Carolina's Week 0 trip to Dublin vs. TCU.

Edwards is a well-traveled arm at this point. He was Maryland's starter in 2024, throwing for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns, per Thamel, before transferring to Wisconsin last offseason. That move went sideways fast — Edwards suffered a non-contact knee injury in the Badgers' 2025 opener, later reported as a Grade 3 PCL sprain, and it wrecked what was supposed to be his season in Madison.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Edwards threw for 2,881 yards at Maryland in 2024 and tossed 15 touchdowns that season. He was Wisconsin’s starter last year before suffering a non-contact injury in the opening game that derailed his season.

So this is a redemption arc as much as it is a QB competition. Edwards is reportedly fully healthy again and lands the job in his third program in three years, now tasked with running it for a Belichick team that's still figuring out its offensive identity in Year 2 under the six-time Super Bowl champ. Petrino, a veteran playcaller in his own right, presumably wanted the guy who's already thrown for nearly 3,000 yards in a Power Four season over the up-and-comer, injury history be damned.

The stakes here go beyond a normal opener. Dublin's Aviva Stadium doesn't host college football every year, and North Carolina wants its first snap on that stage to look competent, not chaotic. Edwards gets the job with a lot to prove — that his knee holds up, that he can be QB1 for a full season somewhere, and that Belichick's roster overhaul is trending in the right direction before the Tar Heels play a real conference schedule.