Here’s why Providence Day QB Zaid Lott chose Syracuse over Bill Belichick, UNC
So why did Providence Day quarterback Zaid Lott decommit from Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels in favor of Syracuse on Tuesday?
It was really simple, really, Lott told The Charlotte Observer.
“We all know about the coaching change,” Lott said Tuesday afternoon. “And just for me personally, whenever I committed to coach Mack Brown, to me it fit all the boxes, with the family aspect and stuff like that. With the new staff and coaches, I just felt it wasn’t the same type of feeling. It just didn’t check all the boxes anymore.”
Last June, Lott committed to the Tar Heels and Brown despite only starting one high school varsity game. Lott had played behind two-time N.C. Mr. Football Jadyn Davis, who is now at Michigan.
As a junior last fall, Lott completed 184 of 316 passes for 2,869 yards and 29 touchdowns. He ran 75 times for 285 yards and seven scores.
A few weeks after his season ended, Brown stepped down as coach of the Tar Heels. In December, Belichick — a six-time Super Bowl champ as a head coach — was named to replace Brown.
Lott said he visited North Carolina on March 8, when the Tar Heels hosted Duke in basketball.
“When I went up there, I realized it kind of felt off,” he said, “and didn’t feel like the correct fit for me anymore.”
College coaches regularly continue to recruit unsigned players, especially at quarterback, and Lott said he was no different. Just after the Chapel Hill visit, his interest in Syracuse grew.
Lott said he had been close to the Syracuse staff throughout his recruitment process and began speaking more to Orange offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon and head coach Fran Brown.
He decided to take a visit to the school last weekend. He committed during the visit and made the announcement public Tuesday.
“We had been communicating and building a relationship,” Lott said of the Orange coaching staff, “and seeing the facilities and the campus really put the icing on the cake for me, if that makes sense, just being up there and seeing the people and them showing me how much they wanted me.”
Lott said he got a similar feeling about Syracuse during his visit as he did to when he originally committed to North Carolina last summer.
“I found somewhere that suits me again,” he said. “I found somewhere that is a great for me again.”
