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Bill Belichick has North Carolina football going coast-to-coast with pursuing high-profile recruits. He's now got the Tar Heels courting a fast-rising California linebacker. One already offered by College Football Playoff qualifier Tennessee plus USC.
Isaiah Phelps of Pacifica High School in Oxnard revealed UNC as his latest offer, which he announced on his X page. The Tar Heels now enter his recruiting picture as the brand new major CFB opportunity. And for North Carolina, this becomes a rare pursuit of a Ventura County talent.
But it's additional proof that Belichick and his staff are aggressively going after the more talented young prospects across the nation. They're not limiting themselves to only the Carolinas talent and working their high school connections like the Mack Brown regime. Belichick already visited five-star 2026 quarterback Jared Curtis on Monday in his Nashville home.
Belichick is helping install a stronger imprint on the recruiting trail. Again, UNC rarely came out to California's 805 region — let alone Ventura/Oxnard. That area is known for producing a litany of future college and NFL players. Super Bowl 44 champion Scott Fujita, former NFL running back Lorenzo Booker and ex-NFL wide receiver Keary Colbert are among the notable names from that region.
2027 California LB already appealing to Bill Belichick, North Carolina
The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Phelps already has the look of a Belichick-type of linebacker.
Phelps brings the speed and instincts Belichick covets for LB. The incoming junior shows a strong nose for the football, then leaves debris of destruction on the field after.
Pacifica not only turned to Phelps on defense, but threw his powerful frame into the backfield. That decision sparked a stunning run to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 4 title, as Pacifica was once 3-4 in the middle of the season. The Tritons dealt with a fierce non-league and league gauntlet — one that included facing five-star quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park and Miami five-star edge rusher commit Hayden Lowe of Oaks Christian.
Phelps, though, ignited Pacifica's ground attack during their run to a state title appearance. He piled three 100-yard games and scored seven rushing touchdowns between Oct. 18 to Dec. 13, per MaxPreps. Pacifica fell to Grant High from Sacramento for the state championship in Division 2-AA.
He's since established himself as one of the headliners for California's 2027 class. Outside of the Volunteers and Trojans, Stanford and Minnesota represent two other offers from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 10 realm, respectively, for Phelps.
Phelps stars for a high school that produced 2025 San Jose State cornerback commit Jesse Taylor Jr. and Fresno State wide receiver signing Isaiah Dillon. Pacifica is also the high school alma mater of Nohl Williams, who led the NCAA in interceptions at Cal for 2024 (the Golden Bears offered Phelps too). Arizona State linebacker and CFP participant Caleb McCullough is one more past Tritons star. Belichick and North Carolina are now looking like they're setting up an Oxnard to Chapel Hill pipeline through Phelps.