What’s it like to get recruited by Bill Belichick? ‘It’s pandemonium’

Aj Marks was getting ready for what he thought would be a normal school day when one of his coaches at IMG (Fla.) Academy sent him a text message.

“Come over to the fieldhouse. Bill Belichick wants to talk to you, wants to see you.”

Marks had no idea Belichick was in town, let alone on his high school campus. But as any tech-savvy teenager would do, the 2026 cornerback recruit quickly screenshotted the message so he could keep it in his files forever. When he made his way to the fieldhouse, Belichick was waiting with another surprise.

“I was thinking maybe I’d just go over there and introduce myself, have a quick conversation and be done, really,” Marks said. “But I ended up talking to him for an hour and 30 minutes and then he ended the conversation by offering me (a scholarship to North Carolina).

“Meeting him, that’s a lot of people’s dreams. He’s really the greatest coach of all time.”

Wow! Blessed to receive a offer to @UNCFootball by the GOAT himself @Belichick_B 😤@thebillymiller @BlaylockAndrew @Ballhawk__8 @Coachcliff904 @BuckFitz @CoachMcCannERT @dzoloty @CoachKiddIMG @MohrRecruiting @JButler_210 @Zack_Poff_MP @RivalsFriedman @RisingStars6 pic.twitter.com/faVpq2AUg9

— Aj Marks C/O 2026 IMG DB/ATH (@AjMarks_1) January 28, 2025

Belichick, the 72-year-old first-time college head coach, has hit the recruiting trail over the last few months as he looks to build North Carolina into a national contender. In the last month, he has been from Massachusetts to Florida and everywhere in between, connecting with prospects like Marks to make his pitch.

Belichick has his work cut out for him. North Carolina has six commitments in the 2026 class but just one prospect who ranks in the top 500 nationally. But ask any recruit what it has been like to spend time with him, and all of the answers have echoed Marks’ sentiment — just being in the presence of the six-time Super Bowl winner feels surreal.

“Before I even shook his hand, it was like, ‘Wow.’ It was kind of like, I guess people nowadays call it an ‘aura,’” said Nicco Maggio, a Class of 2025 defensive lineman from Georgia who signed with North Carolina earlier this month. “You’re kind of just like, ‘Wow. That’s him.’ He’s the G.O.A.T.”

Belichick first hit the road in January and focused most of his efforts on the East Coast. Hiring former IMG Academy head coach Billy Miller to his staff gave him direct access to some of the nation’s top talent out of the Florida powerhouse, where he offered four other players in addition to Marks on that January morning.

Belichick also pounded the pavement in North Carolina, stopping in to visit a trio of four-star edge rushers — Zavion Griffin-Haynes (Rolesville), Noah Clark (Durham) and Aiden Harris (Matthews) — and perhaps most notably, five-star Oregon tight end commit Kendre Harrison, who attends Reidsville High and is expected to play football and basketball at the collegiate level.

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— k̷e̷n̷d̷r̷e̷’̷ ̷h̷a̷r̷r̷i̷s̷o̷n̷ (@SupremeDre8) February 1, 2025

In late January, Belichick made his way to Nashville for an in-home visit with Jared Curtis, the No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2026 and a former Georgia commit.

Great in home visit today! pic.twitter.com/vDwpLQ3Ybd

— Jared Curtis 2026 QB (@Jaredcurtis37) January 27, 2025

And in a move that has separated Belichick from his UNC predecessors, he has spent noticeable time in the Northeast, where prospects and coaches were happy to hear he plans to make the region a priority for the Tar Heels.

“He came in through the lower parking lot doors and a lot of the seniors got to see him and obviously as soon as they see him, it’s pandemonium,” said Vito Campanile, the head coach at New Jersey power Bergen Catholic. “Obviously he’s going to have a national brand just because of who he is and he mandates that, right? (But) I don’t care if a kid is from the middle of California, Oklahoma or New Jersey — when Bill Belichick comes to talk to you, you should have your eyes wide open.”

Campanile said that Belichick was “really engaging” and “beyond refreshing,” coming across as someone who seemed “beyond reinvigorated” to take on a new challenge. Belichick seems to prefer approaching recruits in small group settings to foster meaningful conversations in a roundtable-like environment.

As for his pitch, Belichick has focused on development and his plans to run UNC like an NFL program. He brought along Joshua Grimes, the former executive chef for the Patriots, to take on the same role at North Carolina, and he had Bergen Catholic recruits’ full attention when he told them that 17 of his former players were at some point the highest-paid at their position in the NFL.

“It is instantaneous credibility, right? And you could hear a pin drop in the room,” Campanile said. “The kids are going to sit up a little bit more in their chair, they’re gonna have incredible eye contact because you’re talking to the standard of excellence in football coaching. If you want to be great and you want an opportunity to develop, how could you not listen?”

When Belichick arrived at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., before sunrise one day last month, it was a reminder of the unorthodox hours all college coaches must keep. He was on hand to observe a morning workout and was accompanied by Andrew Blaylock, his assistant director of player personnel.

“It’s not like those videos where you have teenagers listening to ’80s music and they don’t know who it is. It wasn’t one of those things,” said Jeff Moore, head coach at Tabor Academy. “They were very well aware, very interested.”

So too was Moore, a lifelong Patriots fan who grew up in Norton, Mass., about 10 miles from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Tabor Academy is home to 2027 quarterback Peter Bourque, a four-star prospect who already holds scholarship offers from North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers, among others.

Moore noted that Belichick comes across as a “normal dude.”

Except when he points to his legendary work in the NFL, which is a staple of the pitch.

“He talked about even at the Patriots, their success of developing players, especially guys who were undrafted and have very successful NFL careers, that was through the development of their coaching staff,” Moore said.

It hasn’t been only business, though.

The future Hall of Famer has leaned into the fun parts of recruiting, too.

While he was chatting with Belichick, Campanile received a text message from Notre Dame quarterback and Bergen Catholic alum Steve Angeli on the morning of the Orange Bowl. Angeli sent a photo of him hanging with Tom Brady, who was having breakfast with Notre Dame’s quarterbacks that morning. Campanile asked Belichick if he’d pose for a picture to send right back.

“I think Stevie thought he had me on that one,” Campanile said. “He’s like, ‘I’m with the G.O.A.T.’ I’m like, ‘So am I.’”

And of course, there are the outfits. While Belichick has opted for a coat and tie on most of his recruiting visits, his signature sweatsuits are alive and well in Chapel Hill.

In one of his most-viewed posts on social media, Maggio shared a picture of him with Belichick sporting calf-length sweatpants, shoes with no laces and a sweatshirt.

Coach ‼️ @GreatDayTarHeel pic.twitter.com/G6dlFrnySO

— Nicco Maggio (@MaggioNicco) January 26, 2025

“That was funny,” Maggio said.

With the dead period running through March 2 and the quiet period (no off-campus visits) running through mid-April, Belichick is back in Chapel Hill for the next few months. He can’t hit the road again until April 15. But recruits everywhere will be awaiting his arrival.

“All the rumors, I didn’t think (him taking the UNC job) would come to fruition and it did. It’s just crazy,” said Jaire Richburg, a class of 2026 wide receiver from East Forsyth (N.C.) High and a former teammate of North Carolina quarterback Bryce Baker.

“All of our friends and family tell us, ‘Yo, this is Bill Belichick. He coached Tom Brady. Julian Edelman. Gronk.’ Crazy.”

(Photo of Jordan Thomas and Bill Belichick courtesy of Jordan Thomas)