College football insider predicts Bill Belichick’s first QB at UNC 

ESPN's Greg McElroy predicts that Bryce Baker will be the starting quarterback for Bill Belichick's first year with the North Carolina Tar Heels. The team began spring training camp on March 4 to prepare for the 2025 season.

On Thursday's "Always College Football with Greg McElroy" episode, McElroy discussed the quarterback competition between Baker and Ryan Browne.

"So in the spring, it's probably going to be Ryan Browne, the transfer from Purdue, Bryce Baker, who's the true freshman, and Bryce Baker is the guy that many are saying is going to be the piece that can help elevate this program to the next level," said McElroy (31:31 onwards).

The college football insider also pointed out earlier in the episode that quarterback Max Johnson could've been an option for Belichick if he hadn't broken his leg last season.

On August 29, Johnson suffered his season-ending injury in the third quarter of the Tar Heels game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. McElroy believes the senior quarterback may be available to practice in the fall training camp.

"We know that this is a group that does have some talent and some experience. Max Johnson is probably the best example of that. He's been playing football for quite a while.

"He did suffer a bad leg injury in the opener, so probably not going to be at 100% at any point until fall camp. So, that's when we'll get a good assessment of what he's going to be," McElroy said (31:08 onwards).

Johnson hopes to compete for UNC before he decides to enter the 2026 NFL draft. He has a total of 486 completed passes for 5,924 yards and 47 touchdowns in his college football career. He could be the second option as a quarterback as Baker and Browne compete for the starting role during spring training camp.

Greg McElroy shares what Bill Belichick needs to fix before the start of the 2025 season

McElroy also warned the UNC coach that he must improve the team's defense. Last season, the Tar Heels' defense was 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in total yards allowed (4,885) and 12th in touchdowns allowed (365).

The college football insider pointed out that the team has failed to make adjustments with the different coaches and defensive coordinators they've hired over the years. However, McElroy believes that Belichick's son, Stephen Belichick, could be what the team's defense needs to perform well this season.

"They've tried a million different ways to make this group cohesive defensively, and it just hasn't materialized for whatever reason.

"Now, Belichick's son Steve is going to be the defensive coordinator, and that I think will be beneficial because if you look at what Steve did at Washington last year, he did a pretty good job, and Washington won some games," McElroy said (32:16 onwards).

Belichick will make his UNC coaching debut against the TCU Horned Frogs on Sep. 1.