Bill Belichick has already begun looking ahead towards the 2026 recruiting class.
Najee Calhoun, the Oradell, New Jersey native is scheduled to visit North Carolina on Wednesday, March 19. Along with his upcoming visit to Chapel Hill, Calhoun will check out Duke University and Wake Forest University around the same time.
Kevin Cacabelos on X (formerly Twitter) with the report:
2026 RB Najee Calhoun (Bergen Catholic - NJ) @JeeCalhoun has visits scheduled with Wake Forest (3/18), North Carolina (3/19), and Duke (3/20), he tells me. He is also planning to visit Virginia and Harvard.
— Kevin Cacabelos (@SeaTownKev) February 27, 2025
Calhoun had 13 TDs, 1300 yards, and 6 YPC in 2024. pic.twitter.com/K31rp0mIPb
Calhoun attends Bergen Catholic — ranking as the No. 67 running back and No. 16 in the state, per 247Sports. Physically, he stands at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. The current high school junior holds offers from Boston College, Duke, James Madison, Pittsburgh, and Virginia.
The incoming class for Belichick contains four running backs — those being Demon June, Jariel Cobb, Joseph Troupe, and Jaylon Nichols. There will be no shortage of bodies in the run game department for UNC in the foreseeable future.
During the 2024 season, Carolina had 125 first downs rushing the ball and gained 2727 yards, losing only 357. By the end of the campaign, 26 touchdowns came on the ground (in comparison to 18 touchdowns converted through the air). A big part of the Tar Heels' success was due to having Omarion Hampton's elite talent in the backfield — juking, breaking tackles, and taking the ball all the way into the end zone.
Yes, it will certainly be hard to find another Hampton but with Belichick and the revamped coaching staff the player development should change drastically. However, it remains to be seen how UNC's new head coach can gel to the college game. But the odds of it being a difficult challenge will be towards the lower end of the scale — the guy has eight Super Bowl rings after all.
North Carolina will kick off the season on Monday Night Football against TCU at Kenan Stadium. The event will be shown on ESPN starting at 7:30 p.m.