North Carolina football is already aggressively attacking August. Bill Belichick secured not one, but two commitments to start the month. But the latest is a four-star Tennessee flip.

Belichick landed his prized 2026 tight end Friday. Flipping four-star Carson Sneed over to UNC. Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals even created a graphic showing the Nashville prospect next to a famed Belichick standout: Rob Gronkowski.

The Donelson Christian Academy star Sneed then shared these five words to Fawcett that'll surely excite Tar Heel fans, but likely anger the Volunteers fan base.

“My recruitment is shut down,” Sneed told Fawcett.

Sneed became one of two massive college football recruiting additions for the incoming UNC head coach. Viliami Moala chose North Carolina and Belichick Friday morning. The four-star nose tackle previously was committed to USC in the fall of 2024, then flipped to Oregon. But Moala reopened his recruiting process on July 7.

The TE becomes an even larger scale addition for UNC and the eight-time Super Bowl winner.

Who Bill Belichick, North Carolina will receive out of ex-Tennessee commit

North Carolina Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick at Dean E. Smith Center.
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images.

Sneed hands the Tar Heels a future 6-foot-6, 245-pound option for the offense.

He's taller than the four-time Super Bowl winner Gronkowski. Sneed additionally adds a “throwback” talent for UNC, as described by Andrew Ivins of 247Sports. Ivins adds Sneed is a former offensive tackle who crossed over to TE.

Sneed is still learning TE per Ivins. But has shown physicality in the running game — which is a longtime Belichick staple.

Yet why did Sneed chose to leave Knoxville as his future home and cross over to Chapel Hill? He detailed his reason with Don Callahan of On3/Rivals following his verbal commitment.

“They pressed hard. From the time they offered, much of the staff recruited me, and about two weeks ago, I really started getting that feeling, and I decided to pull the trigger,” Sneed explained.
He didn't hesitate to point out Belichick as “a big reason” for his decision.
“He’s produced some of the best tight ends in the NFL, and the whole staff has a ton of NFL experience. That matters a lot to me,” Sneed added.
Belichick and UNC have gone on a recruiting tear for the summer. Including flipping former Ohio State four-star Jakob Weatherspoon. The ‘Heels sit at 34 hard commits for 2026.
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