Tag: transfer portal tracker

UNC football lands key piece to its 2025 offense with Michigan State WR transfer

UNC football’s latest transfer portal addition is a former Big 10 wide receiver.

As we progress deeper into bowl season, the North Carolina Tar Heels continue to land transfer portal commitments.

UNC can thank its new head football coach, Bill Belichick, for making players want to continue their careers in Chapel Hill.

We have our transfer portal tracker here, North Carolina already has commitments from the likes of Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, Michigan kicker Adam Samaha and East Carolina defensive tackle C.J. Mims.

You can add another transfer to the Tar Heels’ roster, as on Friday, December 20, Michigan State wide receiver Aziah Johnson committed to continue his college football career in Chapel Hill.

Johnson, who will enter his sophomore season during his first year at UNC, recorded 276 receiving yards and two touchdowns – on 16 catches – for the Spartans in 2024. Johnson was one of just five MSU pass-catchers with multiple touchdowns, plus his yardage total was fourth on the Spartans.

With top 2024 wide receivers J.J. Jones and Nate McCollum exhausting their eligibility, North Carolina was in desperate need of a wide receiver. Johnson fits that role: while his freshman year numbers weren’t eye-popping, Michigan State’s offense struggled as a whole.

Looking ahead at the Tar Heels’ projected 2025 roster, Johnson likely moves near the top of their depth chart. Kobe Paysour is currently in line to be WR1, but UNC also has a plethora of freshman talent.

Johnson will be catching passes from either Max Johnson or Ryan Browne. There’s also the possibility North Carolina adds another quarterback through the transfer portal.

Let’s give the Tar Heels’ newest addition a warm welcome. Here’s to hoping Johnson can be another piece of UNC’s electric offense.

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Another UNC wide receiver withdraws from transfer portal after Bill Belichick hiring

UNC’s 2025 wide receiver group just got a major upgrade on Tuesday.

Piece by piece, the UNC football roster is already starting to round into shape for 2025.

North Carolina can thank its new head coach, Bill Belichick, for playing a big part in that.

The Tar Heels’ greatest roster victory came from 2024 starting middle linebacker Amare Campbell, who recently withdrew his name from the transfer portal. UNC also has a pair of transfer portal commitments, plus visits from a pair of 5-star transfers and early interest from the 2026 recruiting class.

On Tuesday, December 17, North Carolina gained another major roster win from one of its skill players.

Kobe Paysour, a junior starting wide receiver who caught 19 passes for 330 yards during the Tar Heels’ 2024 regular season, withdrew his name from the transfer portal.

With J.J. Jones, Nate McCollum, Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver running out of eligibility, Paysour will bring UNC some needed experience in its pass-catching corps. Jones anchored a young receiving corps this season – now, it’ll be Paysour’s turn to do the same in 2025.

Paysour got his first chance to start for North Carolina in 2022 – and took full advantage of his chance, catching a career-high 29 passes and four touchdowns, to go along with 324 receiving yards. Paysour started again in 2023, before suffering a season-ending injury.

With Devontez Walker gone to the NFL this offseason, Paysour got another chance to lead the Tar Heels’ receiving corps in 2024. Paysour played well in the regular-season, catching 19 passes for a career-high 330 yards and 17.4 yards per catch, forming a reliable receiver trio with Jones and McCollum.

Will any other wide receivers commit to UNC through the transfer portal? How about recruits flipping to Chapel Hill?

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Amare Campbell returning to UNC football proves the Belichick effect is real

Amare Campbell’s return wasn’t the only big roster news for the UNC football last week.

Saturday, December 14 was a big day for the UNC football program – and continued to solidify why new head coach Bill Belichick is the real deal.

On Saturday, North Carolina starting middle linebacker Amare Campbell withdrew his name from the transfer portal. For a position the Tar Heels entered the season unsure about, given Cedric Gray’s departure to the NFL (he’s now a Tennessee Titan), they witnessed a star develop in Campbell,

Through 12 regular season games, Cambpell tied for a UNC-best 6.5 sacks,  recorded 10.5 tackles for loss (second-highest), 72 total tackles, four quarterback hurries.

Campbell entered the portal when North Carolina dragged its feet on initially hiring Belichick, but withdrew once Bill was the guy.

Campbell’s withdrawal was the Tar Heels’ greatest roster move so far after Belichick’s hire, but it was just one of four moves.

4-star quarterback Bryce Baker officially signed with UNC, while 2024 starting offensive linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield withdrew themselves from the transfer portal.

What’s particularly encouraging about these recent decisions: despite Belichick never previously coaching at the college level, players trust his longtime success in the NFL.

Belichick led the New England Patriots to Six Super Bowl titles and several additional AFC East Championships, so he knows a thing of two about winning consistently.

North Carolina has its quarterback of the future and two linemen to protect him. There’s no telling what the Tar Heels’ defense will do, but Campbell’s return solidifies a unit looking for consistency. If you watch NFL religiously every Sunday like myself, you know that Belichick had some pretty good defenses in New England.

There’s bound to be several additional moves for UNC: both in the transfer portal and with highly-touted, high school recruits.

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UNC football lands first transfer portal commitment under Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick’s first transfer portal commitment includes some offensive line help.

With their recent hiring of Bill Belichick as head football coach, the North Carolina Tar Heels are expected to attract some of the transfer portal‘s top available talent.

On Monday, December 16, one of the portal’s top FCS players committed to play his final year of college football in Chapel Hill.

Christo Kelly, a former Holy Cross team captain who started 22 games at center for the Crusaders, announced his commitment to UNC via his X account.

In those 22 starts, during which Holy Cross won a fifth-consecutive Patriot League title and made the FCS playoffs, Kelly played 778 snaps.

Kelly immediately fits into North Carolina’s roster. He can either complement Austin Blaske at center, start in place of the graduating Willie Lampkin or go wherever Belichick puts him.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Belichick, it’s that he gets the most out of his players. Just look what he did in his 24 years coaching the New England Patriots, when the roster didn’t carry a bunch of big-name stars, but wins still came aplenty.

Michael Lombardi, UNC’s new general manager, praised Kelly’s commitment.

“We’ve got to get offensive and defensive linemen,” new UNC GM Michael Lombardi told InsideCarolina’s Don Callahan. “At the end of the day, we’re going to build a football team the same way we’ve always built a football team — inside out. Those are the pillars that we’re going to start, stress and build on. That’s the first action that we have to take. It’s not about adding players. It’s about building the team.”

The Tar Heels dealt with plenty of injuries along their offensive line in the 2024 regular season, with its constant rotation a reason Jacolby Criswell kept running for his life.

With Kelly’s commitment part of a suddenly-deep offensive line, North Carolina will be better suited come injuries in 2025.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Transfer portal departure tracker for Texas football in December

Ongoing tracker of which Texas players intend to play elsewhere next season.

As is every year, Texas will see several players enter the transfer portal for more playing time elsewhere. Continue reading “Transfer portal departure tracker for Texas football in December”

LSU Men’s Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker: Who’s in, out after frustrating Year 1 under Matt McMahon

Here are the changes that have come since the end of the 2022-23 season.

At the conclusion of a 2022-23 season that saw LSU go just 2-16 in SEC play after making the tournament the prior year, it was clear changes were coming in Baton Rouge.

But the roster turnover heading into coach Matt McMahon’s second season with the Tigers has been more prominent than some expected, and this team looks poised to enter 2023-24 with a largely new-look roster once again.

Here’s we’ll keep you posted on all the moves LSU makes this offseason in the portal — both the additions and the players who have chosen to move on.

This is what’s happened so far (note: we’ll keep this post updated as more decisions are made)

Updated 4/19

LSU 2022 Transfer Portal Tracker: Keeping up with incoming and outgoing Tigers players this offseason

Here are the Tigers that have made their transfer decisions known so far.

We’ve entered a new era in college football.

These days, players have more agency than ever before, and a major reason for that is the transfer portal. Where before a Letter of Intent essentially locked you into a program, every athlete is now granted a one-time transfer without sitting out.

As you can imagine, that has led to quite a change in how college programs approach the offseason, with many drawing comparisons between the new order of business and NFL free agency.

The transfer portal window officially opened on Monday, and players have 45 days to enter the portal before it closes. It will reopen again after spring practice.

With that in mind, here are the LSU players that have announced their intention to transfer, as well as any commits the Tigers have landed through the portal. We will keep this tracker updated as more players announce their decisions.

UPDATED 12/21

The top five wide receivers in the transfer portal currently

Texas will likely take a look at a couple of these names.

Many players across the college football landscape officially submitted their name into the NCAA transfer portal on Monday. Continue reading “The top five wide receivers in the transfer portal currently”

Portal Wish List: Players Texas could target this offseason

Texas might find the championship piece that puts it over the top through the portal.

The transfer portal is opening. Like pandora’s box, chaos will undoubtedly ensue. Fortunately for Texas, Steve Sarkisian is comfortable with change and should be up to another great portal haul.

Last offseason, Sarkisian had as good of a portal haul as anyone could have expected.

The Longhorns brought in two Day 1 starters from Ohio State, Quinn Ewers and Ryan Watts. In addition, they reeled in Isaiah Neyor, Agiye Hall, Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey and Jahleel Billingsley. In Neyor and Hall, they could have two more starters in 2023.

This year, there aren’t many vacancies for the team to fill through the portal. There is as much depth on the Forty Acres as there has been in awhile.

Despite an already loaded portal class of running backs, Texas might not even give outside options a glance. Jonathon Brooks and Keilan Robinson return as the headliners, while Cedric Baxter, Jaydon Blue and Tre Wisner will push for carries.

Here’s a look at who Texas may target in the transfer portal.

Texas Football: Transfer portal departures tracker

Here is a tracker of notable Longhorns who have entered the portal.

The NCAA transfer portal is a mainstay in the world of college football in 2022. Players having the freedom to transfer without punishment creates a new landscape in the sport.

Steve Sarkisian and his staff will undoubtedly work to use the portal to their advantage. Last season Texas added key contributors such as quarterback Quinn Ewers, defensive back Ryan Watts and linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey.

Like most programs across the country, Texas is expected to see a group of players seek new opportunities. It should be a very active transfer portal season following year two of the Steve Sarkisian era. An important thing to remember is a player entering the portal does not guarantee said player is leaving the program.

The transfer portal did not officially open until Dec. 5 but players began stating their intentions beforehand.

Here is an ongoing tracker of notable Longhorn players who have entered the transfer portal thus far: