Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels One of Three Left Battling for 2026 3✮ QB

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The Tar Heels’ search for their quarterback in the 2026 class has led them to 3✮ QB Travis Burgess and on Tuesday, he took another step in his recruitment.

As first reported by Sam Spiegelman of Rivals, it is now a three team race between UNC, Auburn and NC State for Burgess as he enters his official visits after multiple unofficial visits to each during the spring.

Auburn will kick off that slate of official visits for Burgess on May 30th, while NC State will get their shot on June 6th. That will set the stage for the Tar Heels, who will get the final say in this recruitment the weekend of June 13th when he visits Chapel Hill.

Burgess, the No. 501 overall prospect and No. 30 quarterback in the 2026 class according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, hails from Grayson High School in Loganville, GA. This past year, his first as a full time starter, Burgess threw for 2,255 yards and posted a 23-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio on 60.2% completions, while also running for 596 yards and four touchdowns on just 58 carries.

As he told Spiegelman on Tuesday, this race truly looks to be wide open heading into the official visits, meaning each team has a great opportunity ahead of them. Let’s hope that Bill Belichick, Freddie Kitchens and Matt Lombardi can take advantage of having that final visit and turn it into an eventual commitment.