Kicker Rece Verhoff is returning to the UNC football program and plans to play in the 2026 season, taking advantage of a recent court ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney which granted a fifth year of eligibility to athletes who graduated high school in 2022.

Sweeney’s ruling came after the NCAA instituted its new “5 in 5” eligibility guidelines, which give student-athletes a maximum of five years of collegiate eligibility. The ruling also states that athletes from the Class of 2022 who have signed professional contracts, such as former men’s basketball standout Seth Trimble, are not eligible to come back to school.

The 2025 season was Verhoff’s first with the Tar Heels after he spent the first three years of his college career at Marshall. The then-senior became the team’s leading scorer with 77 total points, finishing 19-for-23 on field goal attempts and 20-for-20 on extra points. His 19 field goal makes tied for the fifth-most in a single season by a Tar Heel kicker.

Verhoff kicked the longest field goal in program history when he booted in a 57-yarder at Wake Forest as time expired in the first half, surpassing the previous long of 55 yards. It also tied for the longest field goal by any kicker in the ACC in 2025. Following the season, Verhoff was named Honorable Mention All-ACC.

There are still potential roadblocks to Verhoff suiting up for the Tar Heels. The NCAA filed its intention to appeal Sweeney’s Class of 2022 ruling last weekend, with President Charlie Baker decrying it as allowing “failed professionals” to come back and “use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships.” In his statement, Baker also endorsed the passage of the Protect College Sports Act, a bill currently in the United States Senate which is sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. Among other things, the bill allows student-athletes one transfer without losing athletic eligibility and also prohibits personnel from becoming the head coach at a different school during the same season.

“We look forward to having him back,” UNC head coach Bill Belichick said of Verhoff Thursday. “But we’ll see what the final rulings are. We’re in a little bit of a temporary situation now… that’s all out of our control.”

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Andy Mead

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