The transfer portal is one of the biggest debate topics in college football.
There’s so many positives to the portal: it allows kids to see more playing time elsewhere, suit up closer to home and play for coaches who initially recruited them, but moved schools.
There’s also plenty of negatives, with the most pressing one being that college football feels a lot more like free agency now. This is accentuated by NIL earnings, as student-athletes can transfer to a larger school to make more off their deals. I am all about these young men and women making money, but collegiate sports become increasingly professionalized by the day.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have lost several players to the transfer portal this offseason, including 2023 starting left tackle Diego Pounds. They’ve also gained a few, including former Texas A&M and LSU quarterback Max Johnson.
Let’s take a brief look at UNC’s greatest transfer portal gain and loss, which – according to college football recruiting expert Mike Farrell – are Johnson and Pounds.
“Veteran QB Max Johnson is expected to start after Drake Maye declared for the NFL Draft,” Farrell wrote. “Johnson was a backup in 2022 and 2023 at Texas A&M, but threw for 2,815 yards and 27 touchdowns with six interceptions, in 2021 at LSU.”
“Diego Pounds started eight games at left tackle and has two more seasons of eligibility,” Farrell said. “He will play for Ole Miss next year.”
Johnson is expected to battle for the starting quarterback spot with Conner Harrell, who backed up Maye and started the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in December. North Carolina has landed a couple offensive linemen to replace pounds, including TCU’s Howard Sampson.
Though football season doesn’t begin for another six months, we’re hoping for a solid first year post-Maye.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
