Following the departure of Mack Brown, the North Carolina Tar Heels football program saw some players in the 2025 recruiting class hesitate to sign their national letter of intent in the early signing period. That included four-star quarterback commit Bryce Baker.
The talented quarterback out of North Carolina committed to UNC over a year ago and is considered the prize piece to their class. But following the coaching change, Baker drew interest from Penn State and LSU. He didn’t sign early and instead needed time to meet with Bill Belichick and make a decision.
He’s made that decision and Baker is still a Tar Heel.
Baker announced on Saturday that he will remain committed to North Carolina and will sign his letter of intent on Wednesday. The plan is for Baker to enroll in January per Inside Carolina:
Bill Belichick was named UNC’s head coach on Wednesday. The next day, he was on the phone with Baker and his family.
“We had a great call with Coach [Belichick] as a family,” Baker’s father, Mike said. “It was a lot longer than I expected, but everyone [in the family] had questions.
“He’s very knowledgeable. He’s definitely looking for tough-minded athletes to compete to put Carolina on a national level, as far as competing for a national championship. And, he says he’s going to hire a great staff.”
Baker is UNC’s highest-rated recruit in the 2025 class, a class that will certainly look different in the coming weeks. But getting him on board with the coaching change is a huge win for the Tar Heels.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Baker is ranked No. 80 nationally, No. 8 quarterback and the No. 3 player in the state of North Carolina per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
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