The Bill Belichick era of North Carolina football got off to a brutal start on Monday evening with a home loss against the TCU Horned Frogs by a score of 48-14. The Tar Heels actually raced out to an early 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game but things went downhill quickly from there, ultimately resulting in the lopsided final result.
Thankfully, on Thursday, the North Carolina football program finally got some good news amidst the rough week.
“BREAKING: Four-Star OT JB Shabazz has Flipped his Commitment from Tennessee to North Carolina, his agent tells me for @rivals,” reported college football insider Hayes Fawcett of Rivals and On3 Sports on X, formerly Twitter.
“The 6’7 315 OT from Winston Salem, NC had been Committed to the Vols since July,” he added.
Shabazz is currently ranked as the number nine offensive tackle in the class of 2026, per Rivals, and goes to high school at East Forsyth in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Overall, it's a big get for a North Carolina football team that could certainly use some good news after Monday's debacle to open up the season.
Can North Carolina recover?
It should be noted that prior to Bill Belichick's arrival, the North Carolina football program was not exactly known as a college football powerhouse, so any expectations for Belichick to immediately turn them into one were probably not grounded in reality.
However, fans were still likely hoping for a little bit more than what they were treated to on Monday night, when they saw an unranked TCU team march into Chapel Hill and annihilate the Tar Heels in front of a silenced home crowd.
Of course, it's still just game one of twelve on the season and there is plenty of time for Belichick to get his squad right as time goes on, and it certainly will help morale around the team that they are still securing high-profile commitments for future years despite the early setback.
In any case, North Carolina's next game is set for Saturday against Charlotte at 7:00 PM ET.
