CHAPEL HILL — On the same day that he was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, typically a career capstone, Bill Belichick was putting the finishing touches on his first complete recruiting class at North Carolina.

The Tar Heels added 39 new players Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, looking to turn the page from Belichick’s disappointing 4-8 season and usher in a new era.

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“They will be a foundation for our program,” Belichick said.

Belichick, 73, was hired in mid-December last year, a tough time in the recruiting calendar to build his own class of players. The Tar Heels hit the transfer portal hard, before and after spring practice, leaving a team with 70 new players. UNC sputtered for most of the season.

The new class, which represents a big chunk of the team’s 105 scholarship players, is a restocking of the roster and indicates that there will be plenty of turnover in the offseason. The class includes nine defensive backs, seven offensive linemen, six offensive linemen and five wide receivers. 

Defensive back Jakob Weatherspoon, from Ohio, is the highest-ranked recruit, while quarterback Travis Burgess, from Georgia, has garnered the most headlines. It includes five players from North Carolina, including brothers Jayden Griffin-Haynes and Zavion Griffin-Haynes from Rolesville High, kicker David Green from High Point Christian, defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin from North Duplin High and offensive lineman J.B. Shabazz from Oak Grove High.

The class ranks No. 17 nationally and third in the ACC behind Miami and Florida State, according to On3.com. But the sheer size of the class plays a role in that ranking.

“We feel good about the players that we have here, and we’re glad they feel good about us,” Belichick said.

General manager Michael Lombardi told donors and boosters in a late September letter that the Tar Heels would bring in “the biggest class in Carolina Football history.”

“Hopefully it will include multiple players who are the cornerstones of our rebuild,” wrote Lombardi, who is the highest-paid general manager in the sport.

Lombardi outlined Wednesday the efforts the Tar Heels went through to put the class together — creating a scouting manual, building a grading system conducive to North Carolina, teaching 25 students how to cut film for their purposes, establishing a performance-based salary system in the age of revenue sharing.

“It’s robust, it’s big,” Lombardi said of the class. “It wasn’t intended always to be that way. A lot of things happened during the season with coaching changes, which opened up a lot of players to come available. It afforded us an opportunity to capitalize on that and build a roster. And this is the first real time that coach and our whole staff have been able to build a roster in the manner in which we see fit.”

Or as he said later: “Why should we stop collecting good players?”

UNC ended the season with 101 players on its roster, which included four graduates, four true seniors and 12 redshirt seniors. Some may have eligibility remaining. Two players have already announced they will transfer. The numbers indicate that there will be more moves to come.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time on every position and evaluate every position correctly and then understand where we need to go forward,” Lombardi said.

The freshmen, at least some of them, are going to have to play. Several true freshmen played this season for the Tar Heels. Lombardi mentioned running back Demon June and running back/wide receiver Jaylon McGill as ones who emerged during the season.

“If you’re here in January, which the bulk of the class will be here in January,” Lombardi said, “then we’ll have a lot of time to develop their bodies, develop their minds, develop their football techniques to be ready to help us in some capacity.”

North Carolina signees

Jimmy-Phrisco Alo-Suliafu DL 6-3 271 Fulshear, Texas/Jordan

Jordan Avinger LB 6-1 221 Orangeburg, S.C./Orangeburg Wilkinson

Ashton BlaL LB 6-3 230 PiLsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic

Travis Burgess QB 6-4 193 Grayson, Ga./Grayson

Julian Burns DB 6-3 194 Monroe, La./Neville

Keeyun Chapman WR 6-3 209 Jackson, Ala./Jackson

Vodney Cleveland DL 6-3 320 Montgomery, Ala./Parker

Will Conroy OL 6-2 290 Valley View, Ohio/IMG Academy (Fla.)

Crew Davis RB 5-11 199 Fairfield, Conn./Iona Preparatory

David Davis DB 6-0 191 PiLsburgh, Pa./Imani Chris^an Academy

Kenton Dopson III DB 6-0 190 Miami, Fla./Miami Norland

Nick Fiumara OL 6-4 297 Foxboro, Mass./Belmont Hill

DQ Forkpa LB 6-1 226 Plymouth, Minn./St. Frances Academy

Jamarrion Gordon DB 5-11 202 Jackson, Ala./Jackson

David Green K 5-10 183 High Point, N.C./High Point Chris^an

Jayden Griffin-Haynes LB 6-2 198 Rolesville, N.C./Rolesville

Zavion Griffin-Haynes DL 6-5 235 Rolesville, N.C./Rolesville

Anthony Hall OL 6-3 356 Brookline, Mass./Dexter Southfield

Jaziel Hart DB 5-11 180 Roanoke, Va./North Cross

Nyqir Helton ATH 5-11 182 Sicklerville, N.J./Winslow Township

David Jackson DL 6-0 208 Washington, D.C./Our Lady of Good Counsel

Xavier Jackson DB 6-1 188 Willingboro, N.J./Bergen Catholic

Jaden Jefferson DB 5-7 160 Oakland, Calif./De La Salle

Adam McCann-Gibbs P 6-0 208 Glen, Northern Ireland/Northern Ireland

Viliami Moala DL 6-2 357 West Valley City, Utah/Thompson

Da’Ron Parks OL 6-5 304 Nitro, W. Va./Nitro

Julian Peterson DB 6-2 183 Sicklerville, N.J./Winslow Township

Dream Rashad TE 6-5 222 Buford, Ga./Buford

Zamaurious Robertson WR 6-0 167 Dillon, S.C./Dillon

Jonah Rodriguez OL 6-4 294 San Diego, Calif./Madison (Southwestern JUCO)

Trashawn Ruffin DL 6-3 350 Calypso, N.C./North Duplin

C.J. Sadler WR 5-9 183 Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical

J.B. Shabazz OL 6-5 333 Winston-Salem, N.C./Oak Grove

Carson Sneed TE 6-6 242 Nashville, Tenn./Donelson Chris^an Academy

Carson Sneed TE 6-6 242 Nashville, Tenn./Donelson Chris^an Academy