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As Most ACC Teams Lose Stars, Starters, UNC Dodges Major Portal Damage (So Far)
By David Glenn
Thanks to the NCAA’s creation of the transfer portal in 2018, then the organization’s revolutionary 2021 rule change that allowed first-time transfers to be immediately eligible at their new school, the manner in which college football teams are built and sustained has changed dramatically.
The two teams in this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference football championship game, Florida State and Louisville, were the two teams that were most aggressive in the transfer portal during the 2022-23 cycle. It’s not an exaggeration to say that a majority of the Seminoles’ and Cardinals’ best players in 2023 started their college careers elsewhere.
Adding talent is only part of wisely managing the transfer portal era, though. Coaches now spend countless hours trying to keep their own top talent, too.
With that in mind, the ACC’s most prominent 2023-24 outgoing transfers (so far) are listed below.
Although each player’s situation is unique, generally speaking, schools aren’t concerned about losing little-used veterans or others buried on the depth chart. Often, those transfers can become win-win situations, in which the player finds more playing time elsewhere and the school he’s leaving now has one additional scholarship to offer to an incoming transfer or to a high school senior.
On the other hand, losing stars is almost always a bad sign. Losing productive starters is often (but not always) a cause for alarm, too.
So far this year, Duke has lost the most high-end talent, in the aftermath of second-year coach Mike Elko’s departure for Texas A&M. Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have lost very productive starters, too.
ACC Outgoing Transfers
(Stars and Other Regular Starters Only)
- Boston College RB Patrick Garwo III, Gr. (2021 second-team All-ACC)
- Clemson WR Beaux Collins, Jr. (three-year starter; 1,290 receiving yards)
- Clemson S Andrew Mukuba, Jr. (three-year starter; 2023 HM All-ACC)
- Duke QB Riley Leonard, Jr. (two-year starter; 2022 HM All-ACC)
- Duke LB Dorian Mausi, Gr. (three-year starter)
- Duke DE RJ Oben, Gr. (three-year starter)
- Duke DT Aeneas Peebles, Gr. (2023 third-team All-ACC)
- Duke S Jaylen Stinson, Gr. (two-year starter)
- Florida State DE Patrick Payton, So. (2023 starter; 2022 ACC DFOY)
- Georgia Tech CB Kenan Johnson, Gr. (eight 2023 starts)
- Georgia Tech DE Kyle Kennard, Gr. (20 career starts)
- Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke, Gr. (three-year starter; 2021 ACC ROY)
- NC State NT/DE CJ Clark, Gr. (two-year starter; 23 career starts)
- NC State S Jakeen Harris, Gr. (21 career starts; injured 2023)
- Pittsburgh LS Byron Floyd, Gr. (two-year starter)
- Pittsburgh LB Bangally Kamara, Sr. (two-year starter; 21 career starts)
- Pittsburgh DE Nate Temple, Gr. (eight 2023 starts)
- Virginia Tech TE Dae’Quan Wright, So. (six 2023 starts)
- Wake Forest QB Mitch Griffis, Gr. (nine 2023 starts)
- Wake Forest RB Justice Ellison, Gr. (2022 third-team All-ACC)
- Wake Forest WR/KR Ke’Shawn Williams, Jr. (12 2023 starts)
Meanwhile, North Carolina — at least for now (breaking transfer portal news continues daily) — is one of only four ACC schools that has not yet lost a full-time starter to the transfer portal.
At this point, the Tar Heels have lost only four significant contributors: kicker Ryan Coe, running back Elijah Green, cornerback Tayon Holloway and tight end Kamari Morales.
Coe, Green and Morales are players who are nearing the end of their college careers but had lost their starting positions at UNC.
A Cincinnati transfer, Coe began the 2023 season as UNC’s top kicker, but after suffering an early season injury, he fell behind junior Noah Burnette, who went on to earn second-team All-ACC honors this year. Green led the Tar Heels with eight rushing touchdowns in 2022, but he fell behind sophomore Omarion Hampton (a first-team All-ACC selection) and sixth-year graduate student British Brooks on the depth chart in 2023. Similarly, Morales started all 14 games for Carolina in 2022, but this season he lost playing time to junior Bryson Nesbit (a first-team All-ACC selection) and junior John Copenhaver.
Holloway, a redshirt freshman who began the 2023 season as a starter at cornerback, is perhaps the only departing UNC player (again, so far) who would have been in a strong position to start during the 2024 season. He lost his job at midseason to Virginia Tech transfer Armani Chatman, who is exhausting his eligibility this year.
UNC Outgoing Transfers
(Significant Contributors)
- PK Ryan Coe, Gr. (2023 starter before injury)
- RB Elijah Green, Gr. (led UNC w/eight rushing TDs in 2022)
- CB Tayon Holloway, r-Fr. (six 2023 starts)
- TE Kamari Morales, Gr. (started all 14 games in 2022)
(Minimal Contributors)
- DT Kedrick Bingley-Jones, Gr.
- QB Jefferson Boaz, Gr.
- LB Jalen Brooks, Gr.
- CB Major Byrd, r-Fr. (walk-on for Tar Heels)
- LB Randy “Deuce” Caldwell, So.
- WR/KR Tychaun Chapman, r-Fr.
- LB Sebastian Cheeks, r-Fr.
- WR Andre Greene Jr., r-Fr.
- OL Justin Kanyuk, r-Fr.
- P Cole Maynard, So.
- RB/KR George Pettaway, So.
- QB Russell Tabor, So. (walk-on for Tar Heels)
Although it’s especially difficult to project the long-term futures of redshirt freshmen, for example, the other departing UNC players were extremely unlikely to ever become starters at Carolina. In that sense, practically speaking, the Tar Heels probably can benefit more from the open scholarships than they could have utilized veterans who had been buried on the depth chart, and those same players may be happier concluding their careers at schools that can offer more playing time than is likely to be available in Chapel Hill.
One reminder: Current NCAA rules allow for two standard transfer windows in football: #1-a 30-day stretch that begins the day after the College Football Playoff teams are selected (meaning Dec. 4 through Jan. 2, 2024, this time), and #2-a 16-day period that arrives soon after schools’ spring practice schedules are completed (April 15-30, 2024).
That means there’s still a long way to go in the 2023-24 transfer cycle. For now, though, UNC has suffered minimal damage, at least compared to most of the Tar Heels’ ACC competition.
David Glenn (DavidGlennShow.com, @DavidGlennShow) is an award-winning author, broadcaster, editor, entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, writer and university lecturer (now at UNC Wilmington) who has covered sports in North Carolina since 1987.
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UNC hasn’t lost a “major contributor,” because what could be major contributors come to UNC and don’t get to play or contribute in major ways, although many are very talented: George Pettaway and Doc Chapman for example. Pettaway NEVER got to play a meaningful down before he redshirted and everyone knew he was done at UNC. Doc Chapman really didn’t even need to wear a uniform. He could have worn a t-shirt and jeans, as all he was allowed to do was fair catch kickoffs.
I have a suggestion for UNC: Since Georgia didn’t make the playoffs, offer Mack Brown in a swap for Kirby Smart, and since they’d be getting a Hall Of Famer, they might even throw in a few assistants and starters. I’m sure they would accept the swap, as Kirby is not a “Hall Of Fame” coach. Mack can take Georgia to places they haven’t been in years!!! And Kirby would have NO PRESSURE on him to make the playoffs, as we’re rarely even in the top 25.