Bill Belichick secured his first major recruit on Saturday.
Quarterback Bryce Baker, a Rivals.com four-star recruit and the top-rated member of North Carolina’s 2025 recruiting class, reaffirmed his commitment to the Tar Heels on Saturday, ESPN said.
Baker has committed to play at North Carolina in June 2023, but has yet to sign a contract and has been in contact with both Penn State and LSU in recent weeks. But Baker said he was confident he would continue with the program after a phone call with Belichick Thursday night. That phone call came just hours after the longtime New England Patriots head coach was officially introduced as the program’s next head coach.
“Their experience in the NFL is tremendous,” Baker said. “They were at the level I’m trying to get to. I feel like that separates them from a lot of other schools. They want to develop me and know the intricacies that will help me achieve my goals. I feel like [Belichick] he will bring the right pieces to build around me. They’ll make me a priority.”
Baker, a 6-foot-2 quarterback from Kernersville, North Carolina, is the No. 7-ranked quarterback in his class. He threw for 3,099 yards and 36 touchdowns with just four interceptions while leading East Forsyth High School to a 13-1 record this fall.
Baker said he will officially sign with the program next week and will enroll at North Carolina in January. Only two others in the recruiting class — four-star linebacker Austin Alexander and three-star running back Demon June Jr. – are still unsigned.
After winning his sixth Super Bowl with Tom Brady and the Patriots, Belichick officially agreed to take over for Mack Brown in North Carolina earlier this week. The 72-year-old will now try to lead a program that has been largely overshadowed by its basketball team and has had just one 10-win season since 1997.
While things will be significantly different for Belichick now that he’s working in college — he’s never had to recruit players at this level to begin with, let alone in the NIL era — he’s already won over perhaps the most important reinforcement.
“I have to trust that he’s going to bring in the right pieces and the right personnel to help me succeed,” Baker said. “I want to develop and be as prepared as possible, so when the opportunity comes, I’m ready to take it. . . . He was very prepared and very knowledgeable. He had long answers explaining the terminology. . . They’re going to bring in more top guys, they’re going to go after the best coaches and they’re going to more disciplined on and off the pitch.”