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SAN DIEGO – Not long ago, when the instant-eligibility aspect of the portal opened and changed college football forever, North Carolina Coach Mack Brown lived by a clear mantra: He would only bring in players from the portal if they were certain starters.
It didn’t take long for the portal to morph into the wild west, and the immediate impact some programs gained from players coming in from other schools forced Brown to re-evaluate his stance. This isn’t new, however.
A year ago, UNC welcomed Ohio State transfers Lejond Covazos and Jacolbe Cowan, neither of whom were considered candidates to start this season, though both gained increased playing time as the season went on.
Offensive tackle Spencer Rolland started, however, so did center Corey Gaynor, and jack Noah Taylor. But with the number now at eight players committed to Carolina, surely not all are expected to start. Hence, Brown has changed his approach.
“One thing we’ve learned through the portal is we’ve lost some special teams guys, and that hurts us, because second-teamers, by and large, are the ones leaving,” he said following UNC’s 28-27 loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park.
“So, we’re finding out we can bring in an older experienced player that can play and share time, and be a super special teams player. So, that’s why we would look at some of those areas differently than we did before.”
Brown won’t talk about any of the newcomers from the portal until they arrive on campus. Nothing in their commitments binds them to UNC or any school to which players pledge. It only becomes official when they arrive on campus for the next semester and enroll in classes.
Yet, the program is confident each of its commitments will be in Chapel Hill in January, and each will arrive understanding likely roles that have been communicated to them.
As part of the whole portal process, staffs often must recruit their own players from entering the portal while keeping an eye on those in the portal who could serve as quality replacements for whoever decides to leave.
“The other thing that you look at now, when one leaves you don’t worry as much about it because you find another one,” Brown said. “It’s free agency. It’s totally different than it’s ever been. I’m hearing some coaches across the country say, ‘We have to recruit our guys in the locker room after the bowl game, because we’re hearing they may leave.’
“And I’m hearing some say they’ll get on a plane tomorrow or the next day and go to their house and recruit them to stay. So, it’s just totally different. I’m not going to do that. We’re going to talk to our guys and we’re going to be really fair.”
Carolina could gain more commitments from the portal, and it’s possible some current Tar Heels that told the staff after the ACC championship game they were staying, may change their minds after spending time at home and enter the portal. If so, especially if they are projected for the depth chart next fall, UNC could add even more players.
So, it stands, ten early enrollees in the signing class of 2023 plus at least eight portal kids means 22.4 percent of the Tar Heels at spring practice will be new players. But that isn’t such a bad thing. In some respects, it can be invigorating, especially for a team that is primed to take a step forward into a more competitive realm.
“We’ve done a better job in our transfer portal than in the past, I feel,” Brown said. “We’ll have 19 new guys here this spring, which is amazing that there’s that many. That’s what we’re planning on out of 85. It’ll pretty much be the same team you saw tonight with more help, and that’s why I’m excited.”
Currently, Carolina’s portal commitments are:
DB Armani Chatman (Virginia Tech)
DB Derrik Allen (Georgia Tech)
WR Devontez Walker (Kent State)
DE/Jack Amari Gainer (Florida State)
WR Nate McCollum (Georgia Tech)
CB Alijah Huzzie (East Tennessee State)
K Ryan Coe (Cincinnati)
OL Willie Lampkin (Coastal Carolina)
