QB Baker sticks with UNC, touts Belichick’s vision
-
Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Bryce Baker has affirmed his commitment to North Carolina and will sign with the Tar Heels under new coach Bill Belichick, he told ESPN on Saturday.
Baker, the No. 4 dual-threat passer in the class, has been the top-ranked member of North Carolina’s 2025 recruiting class since June 2023. However, Baker did not sign with the Tar Heels during the early signing period Dec. 4-6 and remained in contact with Penn State and LSU throughout North Carolina’s weekslong coaching search, which closed Wednesday with the hiring of 72-year-old Belichick on a five-year deal.
Baker told ESPN that his decision to stick with the Tar Heels was solidified during a phone call with Belichick on Thursday night, hours after the six-time Super Bowl champion’s introductory news conference. According to Baker, the conversation with Belichick centered on the coach’s “pro” vision for the program, from player development to training to the coaching staff Belichick intends to bring to Chapel Hill.
“Their experience in the NFL is huge,” Baker said. “They’ve been on the level that I’m trying to get to. I feel like that separates them from a lot of other schools. They want to develop me, and they know the intricacies that will help me get to my goals. I feel like [Belichick] will bring in the right pieces to build around me. They’re going to make me a priority.”
A 6-foot-3 passer from Kernersville, North Carolina, Baker is ESPN’s No. 193 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle. He was a two-year starter at East Forsyth (N.C.) High School, totaling 3,099 passing yards and 36 touchdowns to four interceptions with another six rushing scores in his senior season this fall, leading the program to a 13-1 finish.
Baker, who initially committed under former coach Mack Brown, told ESPN that he plans to hold a signing ceremony Dec. 18 and will enroll at North Carolina in January. One of three unsigned members of the Tar Heels’ 2025 class entering the week, Baker represents a significant early recruiting win for Belichick.
Despite Brown’s late-November exit, Baker maintained his desire to land with the Tar Heels this month. But Baker kept his options open amid uncertainty at UNC. He visited Penn State on Nov. 30 and told ESPN that his recruitment came down to the Tar Heels and the Nittany Lions.
Baker developed a close relationship with Brown and the previous Tar Heels staff across his first 17 months pledged to the program, particularly former offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. By Thursday night, North Carolina was an entirely different program from the one Baker initially committed to, so he entered the conversation with Belichick armed with a list of questions related to development and program direction.
While Baker said Belichick did not reveal specific plans for filling out an offensive staff, the discussion was positive and left Baker confident in a future with the Tar Heels.
“I have to trust that he’ll bring in the right pieces and the right staff to help me out as far as having success,” Baker said. “I want to get developed and be as prepared as possible so when the opportunity comes, I’m ready to seize it.”
Baker’s move leaves four-star defensive end Austin Alexander (No. 298 in the ESPN 300) and three-star in-state running back Demon June as the remaining unsigned prospects in the Tar Heels’ incoming class. North Carolina offensive linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield each withdrew their names from the transfer portal Thursday following Belichick’s hiring.
“Initial feelings are very mixed thoughts,” Alexander told ESPN this week. “There’s excitement and wonder. I’m just interested to see what’s going to happen. I do not have a timeline. I am just taking it day by day.”
Belichick’s approach to recruiting and the ultimate scope of his allure on the trail stand among the biggest questions surrounding his first foray into college football in the late stages of a nearly 50-year coaching career. In addition to closing out what’s left of the Tar Heels’ 2025 high school class, Belichick and his staff are expected to turn to the transfer portal to fill several starting roles for next fall with needs across the defense and potential to add at quarterback.
“Their experience in the NFL is huge. They’ve been on the level that I’m trying to get to. I feel like that separates them from a lot of other schools.”
Bryce Baker, on Bill Belichick and the new North Carolina staff
Belichick said Thursday that he intends to run a “pro program” at North Carolina, and he has landed in college football at a moment in which the sport’s personnel departments are shifting rapidly toward NFL-style front office models. But recruiting at the high school level remains a relational game, and how well Belichick’s eye for talent and roster construction translates from the NFL to major college football will be critical to his success with the Tar Heels.
“He was very poised and very knowledgeable. He had long answers explaining the terminology,” Baker said. “… They’re going to be bringing in more top guys. They’re going to go after the best coaches. And they’re going to get more disciplined on and off the field.”
LOS ANGELES — Veteran forward Evander Kane made his season debut for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.
Defenseman John Klingberg also returned from a lengthy injury absence as the Oilers attempted to even the series.
Kane is a 15-year NHL veteran who hasn’t played for the Oilers since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final last June. He had surgery last September to repair a sports hernia, and he underwent knee surgery in January.
Kane was slotted on to the Oilers’ second line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
Klingberg hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury while blocking a shot March 27 in Seattle. The Swedish veteran signed with Edmonton in January after going unsigned early in the season, but he played in only 11 games while dealing with multiple injuries.
The Oilers are hoping Klingberg can help their blue line, which frequently struggled in the Kings’ 6-5 victory in Game 1.
Jeff Skinner was scratched by the Oilers to make room for Kane. The 15-year NHL veteran forward made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in Game 1, recording an assist.
-
Ryan S. Clark
Chris Drury and the New York Rangers agreed to a multiyear contract extension on Wednesday, keeping him at the helm of the team’s hockey operations after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
“I am pleased that Chris will continue to lead the Rangers hockey operations in his role as president and general manager,” Madison Square Garden chairman and CEO James Dolan said in a statement. “Over his tenure, Chris has shown passion for the Rangers, relentless work ethic and a tireless pursuit of excellence.
“While we are all disappointed in what transpired this past season, I am confident in his ability to guide this organization to success.”
Drury, 48, took over as general manager and president of hockey operations at the start of the 2021-22 season. The Rangers reached the playoffs in his first three seasons.
His future was one of a few items that remained in question, with the intent that the Rangers would use this offseason to reload in their bid to return to the playoffs. The team also is facing a third coaching search in four seasons after firing Peter Laviolette following his two seasons.
“I am honored to sign this contract extension and continue in this position with the team I grew up supporting,” said Drury, a former Rangers captain who played four seasons with the team. “As I said when I began in this role nearly four years ago, there isn’t a more special organization in hockey, and I look forward to continuing our work this offseason to help us reach our goals for next season and in the coming years.”
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy and reaching the Eastern Conference finals under Laviolette in the 2023-24 season, the Rangers started 12-4-1 this season, only to lose the next five games. That started a chain reaction of inconsistent play that ultimately led to the Rangers finishing six points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
While the Rangers sought to make the playoffs, Drury also made it known they were open for business in December. That’s when they traded captain Jacob Trouba, who still had a year left on his contract, to the Anaheim Ducks. A few weeks later, they traded Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL draft, to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen, who would then sign an extension with the Rangers.
A month before the trade deadline, the Rangers reacquired J.T. Miller in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers also traded defenseman Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche and forward Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights while adding defensemen Carson Soucy in a separate deal with the Canucks.
Still, the Rangers lost four consecutive games in early March before having two three-game losing streaks that further damaged their chances in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Now that Drury has a new contract, he’ll be charged with trying to improve a roster that PuckPedia projects will have only $9.67 million in available cap space. K’Andre Miller, Zac Jones and Matt Rempe are part of the club’s eight-player restricted free agent class, while the Rangers have only two unrestricted free agents in Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Calvin de Haan.
Drury will be looking for a coach in what is expected to be a competitive market. Anaheim and Seattle also fired their coaches, and three other teams — Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia — ended the season with interim coaches. The Canucks declined the option on coach Rick Tocchet, but they have offered him a new, more lucrative contract.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway