It's not very often that the Notre Dame football team loses a recruiting battle these days. It's especially not very often that Marcus Freeman and Co. lose a recruiting battle that every analyst who had their eyes on it predicted them to win. However, on Sunday, the Fighting Irish did lose such a battle as Amir Brown selected Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels as his future coach and school.
Brown, a 4-star running back of Rolesville (Raleigh, NC), is the No. 20 running back in the class and the No. 9 player in the state of North Carolina for the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. Obviously, the fact that he hails from the Tar Heels ' backyard allowed Belichick to pull off the upset, but it's safe to say that most people still expected the 5-foot-11, 200-pound back to pick the Blue and Gold over the Carolina Blue and White.
Amir Brown’s North Carolina pledge defies early forecasts favoring Notre Dame football
Back in April, two On3 analysts put in predictions for the Notre Dame football team to gain the commitment of Brown. However, Belichick and North Carolina did some real work in going against the flow and keeping one of the best players in the state at home. For now.
"Everything about the program speaks for itself," Brown reportedly said following his commitment. "They always show love. And Coach [Natrone] Means made me a priority." It's possible that being the high school teammate of both Jayden and Zavion Griffin-Haynes, who are also committed to UNC, had something to do with the running back feeling more comfortable with Bill Belichick's squad.
Considering that Amir Brown cannot sign with any team for almost 18 months, it's safe to say that North Carolina won the battle for Brown, but hasn't won the war. With Ja'Juan Seider recognized as one of the best running back coaches in the sport, the Notre Dame football team will almost certainly not simply concede it has lost out on one of the best backs in the class. Expect this fight to continue well into next year.