Over the weekend, four-safety Marquis Bryant announced his final six schools under consideration, over a year and a half before he has to commit.
Bryant included a resounding three ACC schools, alongside the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee Volunteers, and Georgia Bulldogs. One of those ACC schools? None other than the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The young prospect also included the Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers on his list, two programs that have greatly outpaced the Tar Heels on the recruiting trail... until now.
Since taking over at North Carolina, head coach Bill Belichick has turned Chapel Hill into an extremely attractive destination for football prospects. How could it not be with one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time at the helm?
Blessed!! @TomLoy247 @RRACKLEY9 @kev_red52 @RamsFootballNC pic.twitter.com/94LHn4EMWC
— Marquis Bryant 4⭐️( 2027) (@QuisBryantt) August 2, 2025
Currently, sites like On3 and Rivals are leaning toward the Tigers or the Volunteers to land Bryant's commitment, despite him growing up less than an hour from the Tar Heels' home. However, those same recruiting sites still have teams like the Penn State Nittany Lions and NC State Wolfpack with relatively good odds to land the safety.
During his first two years of high school, Bryant played both football and basketball for Rolesville High School, starting on varsity as a true freshman.
Over the last two seasons, he amassed 111 total tackles (69 solo), three tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles. Keep in mind, Bryant still has two seasons of high school football ahead of him.
The appearance on Bryant's list of his top six schools is a step in the right direction for Belichick and the Tar Heels; they just have to keep pushing to outpace the powerhouse programs on the list.
Belichick's 2025 class ranked ninth in the ACC and 44th nationally. His class of 2026 ranks fourth in the conference and 20th in the country, so what he is doing is working. So far, he has received commitments from three-star running back Amir Brown and three-star wide receiver Skylar Robinson for the class of 2027.