By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Bobby Petrino has a reputation as an offensive genius, and his first challenge as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator is to determine which of six quarterbacks will make the unit most productive.
Petrino said the pressure of the first practice was part of the evaluation.
After Thursday’s first practice in which Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill (left), a redshirt sophomore, got the first reps and freshman Travis Burgess was impressive, Petrino was encouraged with what he saw. But the competition is far from settled.
“They reported here [Thursday],” Petrino said during a press conference at the Kenan Football Center after that practice. “We went out to practice, and the pressure is immediately on all of them, and I think that’s a good thing. They’ve been working hard all June and July on the understanding that one of us is going to come out here and run out there the first play of the game.”
Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr., a graduate student who began his college career at Maryland in 2022, entered camp with the most experience. Petrino said Edwards arrived in the winter needing to address physical issues, but is now “as healthy as he’s been in a long time.”
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Edwards suffered a PCL strain in his left knee during the Badgers’ season-opening win over Miami of Ohio on Aug. 28 last season when his left leg buckled after a handoff. At Maryland in 2024, he threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions while completing 65% of his passes.
O’Neill brings size and arm strength, and Petrino called him “a big physical guy, big arm, [who can] run,” he said. “He’s a great athlete who can make a lot of different things happen. He’s got to show that he’s consistent with his decision-making and accuracy.”
Petrino emphasized that O’Neill must prove he can be consistent with decision‑making and accuracy. As a reserve with the Aggies in his redshirt freshman season, he was 7-of-14 passing for 120 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Petrino said that he likes redshirt freshman Au’Tori Newkirk a lot and that his grasp of the offense stands out. He only got into two games last season, completing 3 of 6 passes for 23 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with all but one of those attempts coming at the end of the 42–19 loss at N.C. State.
“He understands the offense. He’s a quick learner,” Petrino said. “His ability to be consistently accurate just needs to get better, but he’s done a good job.
Burgess, generally considered to be the most talented of the quarterbacks, missed most of spring but has made one of the strongest impressions on the staff.
He was finally at full strength during summer workouts after suffering a season-ending knee injury last season on Aug. 22 at the start of his senior season at Grayson High School. In 13 games as a junior, he threw for 2,266 yards and 23 touchdowns with four interceptions while completing 60.2% of his passes.
“He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s got a quick release, strong arm,” Petrino said. “He impressed me [Thursday] with how hard he’s worked in his ability to step in the huddle, call the play, picture the play in his mind, and go through his progression.”
Petrino said Burgess “took a huge step forward in the month of June and July,” crediting the continuity of a roster without transfer‑portal additions. The entire group spent the summer leading player‑run practices, which Petrino said accelerated their development.
As for Burgess’ long‑term ceiling, Petrino did not hesitate.
“I think the talent level is very, very high. The ceiling is very high,” Petrino said. “We need to see him more in action, and how quickly you learn, how quickly you can handle protections, how quickly you can handle blitz. Things that he wasn’t able to do in spring are still like question marks on how he’ll do.
“I was impressed with him [Thursday]. I liked the way he approached practice. I could tell that he really worked hard on that. We had a couple of long, too-many-syllable calls [Thursday]. He handled them well, so he certainly practiced doing it, and that shows a lot.”
Two quarterbacks on the roster who aren’t expected to be in the mix are redshirt sophomores DJ Mazzone and Andrews Miyares Jr.
Coach Bill Belichick will ultimately determine the timeline for naming a starter. Petrino said, “I think coach is going to decide on the timeline, and I think he’ll know it when he feels it.”
For now, the race continues, and Petrino believes the first practice showed meaningful progress.
“We’ve got to come out every day and have the intensity and the commitment to our fundamentals,” he said. “I like what I see, but we have a ways to go.”
Photo via @UNCFootball
