With the holidays now behind us, Mack Brown is showing off his shopping spree. Nine transfers from around the country and the world are now officially Tar Heels, meaning Carolina can now focus on its upcoming spring season. With the program also adding 10 true freshmen early enrollees, a large percentage of the spring squad will be brand new to Chapel Hill.
The group of transfers includes some familiar faces from ACC opponents, such as Georgia Tech wide receiver Nate McCollum and Virginia Tech cornerback Armani Chatman. Stars from teams outside the Power 5, such as standout East Tennessee State cornerback Alijah Huzzie and Kent State wide receiver Tez Walker, also join. Brown said networking with one of Carolina’s star players aided in the recruitment of some of the transfers.
“When Alijah Huzzie got in the portal, we’ve got Gary Downs [Josh Downs’ father], the recruiting coordinator and running back coach at East Tennessee State,” Brown said. “Nate McCollum had a relationship not only with [UNC general manager] Pat [Suddes], but he had one with Josh Downs. And Josh could tell him what this place is like. Gary could tell Alijah what this place is like after he got in the portal. So much of this now is on relationships.”
In some cases, direct family ties even came into play: defensive back Derrik Allen from Georgia Tech is the older brother of UNC’s rising sophomore cornerback Marcus Allen.
Carolina’s dip into the portal also included a player the program didn’t meet in person: Tom Maginness, a punter from Australia who gives UNC more international flair at that position. Maginness was the last of the nine transfers to arrive in Chapel Hill, and though Brown said he’s hopeful about the new haul, he stopped short of giving any real predictions for their impact.
“We haven’t coached these guys yet. We’ve played against a number of them,” said Brown. “And that’s one thing that you do: if you lose a guy that’s not playing as much, and you gain a guy that’s a superstar on their team, you would hope that it would upgrade your roster.”
McCollum and Walker are particularly notable in that respect; both led their respective teams in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns this past season. And when it came to picking receiver talent from the portal, Brown said Carolina had plenty of choices. The reason why? It came down to who would be throwing them the football.
“There’s absolutely no question that people want to play with Drake [Maye],” Brown said. “We had calls from receivers all over the country that want to play with him. So he helped us, there’s no question.”
Brown reaffirmed his pride in Carolina’s nine wins last year and Coastal Division title. After all, it’s only the second time the program has won nine games since Brown left in 1997. But now after a season which seemed destined for greatness came up short, the Hall of Famer said nine wins won’t cut it anymore. He said the next step is turning around three of Carolina’s five losses which were decided by one possession.
“We’re a really good program. We’ve got to be a great program,” he said. “And to do that, we had to win the last four games. In three of them, we were down to the last play. So we’ve got to get guys that love football and compete all the time, and figure how to make that one more play.”
For a full list of Carolina’s transfer class, click here.
Featured image via Eli Melet
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