Marking a historical moment in CFB, Bill Belichick recruits ex-Nick Saban athlete

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has arrived in college football as coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels to replace Mack Brown. Belichick brings a lot of gravitas and star power that has been lacking in college football after former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban retired in January.

Belichick has been in the job for barely a week and he is already making waves. On Thursday, he welcomed a heralded recruit from the transfer portal. Former Alabama offensive lineman Miles McVay who entered the transfer portal on December 8 committed to North Carolina just hours after visiting Chapel Hill.

McVay is in a unique position having already played for Nick Saban before he retired and is now on the cusp of playing for another legendary coach when he suits up for Bill Belichick in North Carolina. He is currently the only player to ever hold such a distinction.

Bill Belichick continues to emphasize recruitment

During an appearance on the "Pat McAfee" show on Monday, Bill Belichick who promised to make the North Carolina Tar Heels a "pipeline of talent" to the NFL, once spoke about the importance of recruitment.

"We've been talking to a number of players, and we have more coming in this week as part of the portal," Belichick said. "That closes on Sunday, so we have guys coming in pretty much every day this week. We're selling the program. Quite honestly, we have a lot of players and agents coming to us saying they want to be part of the program: 'Is there a spot for us?'

"A lot of the agents representing players in the transfer portal are ones that we dealt with in the National Football League. A lot of those relationships are carrying over into college football."

Belichick further highlighted the scope of the recruitment that he and his Tar Heels staff are undertaking barely a week into his college football career.

"It's certainly exciting to see it happening. We've gotten a lot of feedback — from agents, high school coaches, players entering the portal — of their interest in coming to Carolina and being part of the program," Belichick said. "We'll just do our due diligence and follow our process on that."

The pressure for Bill Belichick to deliver success in Chapel Hill will be high due to his accomplishments in the NFL. Recruitment has been highlighted as a key area to tackle if he is to achieve the goals expected of him.