UNC Football Transfer Portal Update: Week 2

SB Nation

The College Football Transfer Portal’s two-week window is about to close officially on Friday January 16th (with an exception for Miami and Indiana who get a four day extension following the CFP Championship

game), and though this means that players can no longer enter the portal, it does not mean that every player in the portal has to decide by then. This is important to note, as the Tar Heels have only brought in 18 players while 33 have entered the portal.

So, with another week of portal activity, here are the recent additions to the North Carolina Football team (players who committed during the first week can be found here).

Tight End: UNC brought in a pair of tight ends from P4 schools this week in Texas’s Jordan Washington and Ohio State’s Jelani Thurman. Washington is a 6’4 264 lb sophomore who caught 7 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in six games last season. Thurman is a 6’6 260 lb junior who caught four balls for 42 yards and a touchdown this past year. Both players also played on teams that have played in the CFP playoffs, though neither player has any stats in any of those contests.

Offensive line: The Tar Heels also brought in two more offensive linemen this past week in OT Shaq McRoy from Arkansas and OG Rowan Byrne from Clemson. McRoy, who is the only player to commit so far from my Christmas wish list, is a 6’8 344 lb freshman who follows new OC Bobby Petrino from the Razorbacks. Though he only played 58 snaps, McRoy is massive for a OT and is coming from one of the best olines in the country, plus he scored a rushing touchdown against Notre Dame. Byrne, who is 6’5 and 295 lbs, is also a freshman who only played 2 snaps last year for the Tigers, but was a highly rated three-star prospect from NY. That brings UNC’s line total up to four with two tackles and two guards, though Baylor transfer Sean Thompkins is considering flipping to LSU.

Defensive Line: North Carolina continued to pluck from 7-5 Richmond with the addition of Donovan Hoilette. The first team all Patriot League 6’4 245 lb senior (this will be his sixth season due to a redshirt and a medical redshirt) led the Spiders in tackles for loss with 13 while finishing second with 6.5 sacks. In Richmond’s 35-point loss to UNC this past season, Hoilette had 2 tackles. Regardless of that, he must’ve impressed someone as this is the second defensive Spider the Tar Heels have claimed so far this portal season.

Linebacker: North Carolina added to an area with need with another sixth year player in Syracuse’s Derek McDonald. McDonald, a 6’4 230 lb from Georgia, finished last season with just 6 tackles in three games last season before suffering a hip injury in the team’s fourth game against Clemson that ended his season. Before last season, McDonald was one of Syracuse’s top defenders finishing fourth on the team in both 2023 and 2024 with 63 and 51 tackles respectively.

Kicker: The Tar Heels also brought in kicker Aeron Burrell from LSU. If you were hoping he was here to replace departing kicker Rece Verhoff, you would be mistaken as Burrell has zero field goal or extra point attempts in his two seasons in college. Burrell is however a kickoff specialist who routinely gets touchbacks finishing last season at 89.2% which was third in the country (Verhoff was only 75%).

Before signing off, here is a list of all the former Tar Heels who have already signed somewhere during this portal cycle:

DL CJ Mims-Texas A&M

QB Gio Lopez-Wake Forest

TE Connor Cox-Virginia

OG Bo Burkes-Jacksonville St

QB Bryce Baker-Virginia Tech

DL Devin Ancrum-Charlotte

LB Tyler Thompson-Louisville

S Malcolm Ziglar-South Florida

WR Kenedy Uzoma-Temple

TE Jake Johnson-Auburn

CB Khalil Conley-Appalachian St