Ahead of Saturday’s game between North Carolina and Clemson, UNC head coach Bill Belichick praised Clemson true freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds.

Belichick noted that he and his coaching staff spent time evaluating Reynolds, a former four-star prospect per ESPN, during the high school recruiting process.

“Tait is a guy we spent some time on last year in the recruiting process,” Belichick said during his press conference Monday. “Really athletic kid. Very, very productive in some of the high school tape that we saw. I’m sure that he’s going to be a really good quarterback in the ACC and in college football.”

Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach who is now in his second season as UNC’s head man, complimented Reynolds’ physical talent and sees a bright future for the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder.

“He’s very athletic,” Belichick said. “A hard guy to tackle, has a good arm, can make all the throws.”

On Sunday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney named Reynolds as his starter for the Week 3 showdown vs. UNC, confirming Reynolds earned the start based on his performance in the Tigers’ 22-7 win over Georgia Southern last Saturday night and not because senior Christopher Vizzina is banged up.

Reynolds completed 16 of 27 passes for 178 yards, and also ran for 38 yards in the victory over Georgia Southern. He led the Tigers on five of their six scoring drives after coming into the game. The freshman completed 12 of 17 passes for 160 yards in the first half. He also ran for 32 yards after replacing Vizzina in the first quarter.

Vizzina ran the first three series of the game before Swinney and offensive coordinator Chad Morris proceeded with their plan to let Reynolds run the fourth series.

Though Vizzina is dealing with a left arm injury that he sustained in the game, Swinney said Sunday that he expected Vizzina to be available for Saturday’s game. Despite the starting quarterback change from Vizzina to Reynolds, and no matter who’s at QB for the Tigers, Belichick believes Clemson’s core offense will stay largely the same.

“I think, in a way, they’re both similar,” Belichick said of the two QBs. “They both can run the ball, and they have quarterback runs incorporated in their offense. Vizzina did against LSU, so we know that they will do it with both guys.

“I think that the offense is going to be the offense. I’m sure that whoever they feel most confident with – I guess Tait, in this case – that’s who we’re going to have to get ready for. But I don’t think the offense is going to change too dramatically with either player. I’d say their skills are within a range of similarity.”

Belichick knows that stopping Clemson will entail more than simply focusing on just the quarterback position, and he specifically heaped praise on the Tigers’ dangerous wide receiver duo of T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr.

“Offensively, it starts with the two receivers – Wesco and Moore,” Belichick said. “Those guys are really good, as good as anybody we’ll see all year. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re really physical. They’re hard to handle.”

“The big thing with Clemson is going to be obviously tackling,” Belichick added. “Their running backs run hard, but Moore and Wesco get a lot of yards after the catch. Obviously, Wesco is a returner as well, so we have to do a good job of tackling those guys.

Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Tar Heels at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is set to kick off at 12 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. It marks the ACC opener for both teams, with Clemson currently a 3.5-point betting favorite.

Last season, Clemson defeated North Carolina, 38-10, in Chapel Hill, and Saturday’s game will mark UNC’s first visit to Clemson since 2023, when the Tigers won 31-20.

Clemson has seven straight games in the football series vs. UNC.

“I know we’re heading into a real hostile environment down there at Clemson,” Belichick said. “As usual, they have a really good football team, a lot of good players, well coached. I’ve known Coach Swinney a long time. He does a really good job with his team, with his players.

“Coach [Tom] Allen, Coach [Chad] Morris on offense and defense – two very, very experienced guys. A lot of experienced coaches on their staff that have been at Clemson for a number of years, and very familiar, either played there or coached there — or in Coach Morris’ case, come back to coach there and so forth. So, a pretty experienced team. A couple transfers, but a lot of experienced guys.”