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CHAPEL HILL – There was a time not too long ago when Mack Brown wasn’t all that interested in scouring the transfer portal looking for football players that could help his program.
He admittedly wasn't a huge fan of it. But that didn't stop the North Carolina coach from dipping in last winter out of a major need.
UNC brought in former Tennessee running back Ty Chandler last January, and it worked out well for Chandler and the Tar Heels. He has run for 1,063 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. But that is it.
Carolina lost a pair of NFL backs following last season, so Brown took the plunge and found Chandler. A year ago, that was seemingly a one-off, but not anymore.
“I was one of those (coaches) that didn’t really like (the portal), and that didn’t matter,” Brown recently said. “Wake up and get in the real world here, because it’s happening, it’s real.”
So, UNC may dive a bit deeper into the portal this time around. That doesn’t mean Carolina will bring in more players, or any, but Brown and his staff are diligent in finding guys that could fill needs, of which there are several.
“It seems like a lot of the guys that are in the portal in mid-season aren’t playing very much, but when a coaching staff either leaves or gets fired, some really good players are going into the portal. So, that’s different,” Brown said. “We don’t want to bring an average player in. If we bring somebody in, he needs to be a contributor and a guy who can start.”
Last weekend, UNC brought in a few noteworthy players from the portal for visits.
Veteran center Corey Gaynor started in 28 of the 42 games in which he played for Miami before suffering a season-ending injury last September. With turnover in the Hurricanes’ program, Gaynor decided to look for a new school for his final season of eligibility.
Gaynor played games in each of the last five seasons at Miami, but he’s taking advantage of the NCAA rule giving back all athletes last year because of COVID.
Noah Taylor graded out at 67.7, according to PFF, this season playing outside linebacker at Virginia. He played a career-high 707 snaps for the Wahoos this fall, and 1,925 in three seasons for his career.
Karon Prunty has been to two schools so far, but he is an intriguing talent, which is why he was in Chapel Hill over the weekend. He started his career at Kansas and starting nine games as a true freshman in 2020 and earning freshman All-America honors. He left KU with the program in turmoil ending up at South Carolina. But he left in August, entering the portal.
North Carolina obviously has needs in each position group represented by the trio, and that UNC had them on campus, including at the basketball team’s win over Elon on Saturday night, is a clear indication the program is quite interested in them.
Perhaps that wouldn’t have been the case when Brown returned to UNC three years ago because of his preferences at the time and the challenge of getting transfers into school, notably in graduate programs.
“Our graduate school wasn’t structured to help when we first got here, so that slowed us down as well – we think we’re in a better position right now,” Brown said. “We’re still not there but we’re better. So, we’re looking at positions of need for us, and we’re looking at what high school players can come in in January or June and help fill those needs. But we’re also looking more aggressively at the portal every day.
Billy High, Carolina’s recruiting coordinator, combs over each name that enters the portal, which is a fairly quick process for players these days. It just requires they hop on an app, and within minutes are formally in the portal.
High has help, though, as other coaches look at video of the players with whom they are initially interested.
“We have people that check it every day, and it’s amazing how many are popping out; and really good players,” Brown said.
And maybe one or more of those good players will end up in Chapel Hill.
