When North Carolina marched right down the field on the first possession of the game against TCU, it looked like the Bill Belichick era was off to a roaring start and that the Tar Heels would cruise to victory.
It was all too perfect— the legendary NFL coach coming to Chapel Hill to create the next great college program, getting his start in emphatic fashion. Then, reality hit.
The TCU Horned Frogs, as of the time of writing, are up 40-7 midway through the 3rd quarter of the game. It's not just uncompetitive at this point— it's an absolute bloodbath for Belichick's opener.
Now, as I have written multiple times, you can't overreact too much to week one games. But as I know, simply writing that won't stop anyone from doing it, so let's imagine for a moment that this is, actually, an accurate herald of what is to come for Belichick up in North Carolina. If that is the case, it could mean some big things for Aggie recruiting.
Texas A&M could take revenge on Bill Belichick's for earlier flip by snagging high-level DT back
One of the first commits from this 2026 cycle to the Texas A&M coaches was North Carolina defensive tackle Trashawn Ruffin. The big DT from Mt. Olive, NC was committed to the Aggies early on, but flipped to Belichick and the Tar Heels this past March.
Now, the Aggies didn't exactly open with amazing competition, but if A&M's season continues to show them as a contender, while things in Chapel Hill spiral, then the Aggies could get a foot back in the door. Mike Elko has a lot of connections in North Carolina from his time at Duke and Wake Forest, and he could work those to get back in the race here.
Of course, the Aggies already have a few defensive linemen committed, but Ruffin fits the profile of a big, run-stuffing DT that the Ags don't currently have on their commit list. It would be nice to get him back in the boat, and that could be just what we see happen.