UNC football lands first transfer portal commitment under Bill Belichick

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.

Committed @UNCFootball pic.twitter.com/rSGA8heVn1

— Christo Kelly (@christo_kelly42) December 16, 2024

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.