The college football transfer portal opened Friday, Jan. 2 and closed Friday, Jan. 16. Here’s a list of players who have committed to head coach Bill Belichick and UNC out of the portal so far, with their classes for the 2026 season:
- QB Billy Edwards, Jr. (Most recent school: Wisconsin, redshirt senior)
- Ranked 3rd in Big Ten with 262 passing yards per game with Maryland in 2024
- OL Andrew Threatt (Charleston Southern, senior)
- Named first team all-conference as a junior in 2025
- TE Jaxxon Warren (Colorado State, redshirt sophomore)
- 7 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in 2025; injury ended season after 2 games
- DL Tarvorise Brown (Florida, redshirt junior)
- 4 total tackles in 3 games with Florida in 2025
- DL Jaylen Harvey (Penn State, redshirt sophomore)
- 8 total tackles and a sack in 11 games in 2025
- WR Trech Kekahuna (Wisconsin, redshirt junior)
- 55 catches for 614 yards and 2 touchdowns across 3 seasons with Wisconsin
- DB Ade Willie (Michigan State, redshirt senior)
- 16 total tackles and a pass break-up in 4 games in 2025; missed final 8 games with injury
- QB Miles O’Neill (Texas A&M, redshirt sophomore)
- 20 total pass attempts in 2 seasons at Texas A&M
- LB Peyton Seelmann (Richmond, junior)
- 2-time first team All-Patriot League honoree; ranked 8th in FCS with 120 total tackles
- WR Mason Humphrey (Lehigh, senior)
- 90 catches for 1,423 yards and 10 touchdowns in 3 seasons with Lehigh
- OL Shaq McRoy (Arkansas, redshirt sophomore)
- Played in 6 games, made 1 start at Arkansas in 2025; spent 2024 at Oregon
- LB Derek McDonald (Syracuse, redshirt senior)
- Played 5 seasons at Syracuse; missed final nine games of 2025 season with hip injury
- OL Rowan Byrne (Clemson, redshirt freshman)
- Appeared in 1 game and redshirted the 2025 season at Clemson
- K Aeron Burrell (LSU, junior)
- Second team All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC honors as a kickoff specialist in 2024
- TE Jelani Thurman (Ohio State, senior)
- 13 career receptions for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns; played in all 16 games for Ohio State’s championship team in 2024
- TE Jordan Washington (Texas, redshirt sophomore)
- 7 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in 2025
- DL Donovan Hoilette (Richmond, redshirt senior)
- 48 total tackles and 9 sacks in 2025; named first team All-Patriot League
- RB Kaleb Jackson (LSU, senior)
- 82 carries for 331 yards and 4 touchdowns in 3 seasons at LSU
- OL Brandon Homady (West Virginia, sophomore)
- Appeared in 11 games as a true freshman in 2025
“This year, we have a better understanding of what’s in the portal, what could be in the portal, what kind of players we want from the portal that fit what we have to do here at North Carolina,” UNC general manager Michael Lombardi told the media in December. “And so we have to be ready to be able to fill the spots that we have to.”
Prior to the 2025 season, Lombardi and Belichick executed a massive upheaval of UNC’s roster, bringing in 70 new players between incoming freshmen and transfers. Notable incoming transfers included quarterback Gio Lopez and defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude, while notable players to leave UNC via the transfer portal included defensive end Beau Atkinson (Ohio State) and linebacker Amare Campbell (Penn State).
UNC finished the 2025 season with a 4-8 record, missing a bowl game for the first time since 2018.
For a list of which players left UNC via the portal, click here.
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