Melkart Abou-Jaode 6-foot-5, 260 pounds

Three years ago, with his senior year in high school almost over, Melkart Abou-Jaoude was working in a bagel shop in northern New Jersey, something he had done for a few years.

His hopes of playing college football seemingly all but over, good fortune found him that day. A Delaware football player at the time, and a former walk-on, started talking with Abou-Jaoude and learned about his dream. He suggested Abou-Jaoude send a tape and he’d see what he could do.

Three years later, and after three years at Delaware, two as a regular on the Blue Hens’ defensive line, Abou-Jaoude is in Chapel Hill having transferred to North Carolina last winter. He has gone from working at a bagel shop thinking his football days were over to playing for the greatest coach of all time with two years of eligibility remaining.

Known as a workout dynamo and unafraid of big challenges, Abou-Jaoude is on to his next one with the Tar Heels. Born in Lebanon and having moved to the United States when he was three, Abou-Jaoude has a chance at becoming a really cool story this fall.

A daily grinder always trying to improve his explosiveness off the snap. That was his pitch when doing a short ad for Parisi Speed School.

“I’m a d-end, so my specific needs were getting off the ball. Acceleration, first couple of steps. I really wanted to work on that,” he said in the one-minute video ad.

And that rush off the snap is partly what helped Melkart Abou-Jaoude accumulate 9.5 TFLs and 6.5 sacks last season for the Blue Hens. With a more concentrated discipline with the UNC staff, the upside for Abou-Jaoude is considerable.

As we are doing all spring and summer, here is a dive into Abou-Jaoude’s numbers:

2024 Stats:

*11 games, 402 snaps, 24 tackles, 4 missed tackles, QB hits 3, 11 hurries, 13 STOPs (plays that result in failures for opposing offenses), and a season PFF grade of 74.5.

Career Stats:

*26 games, 721 snaps, 54 tackles, 5 missed tackles, 15 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 19 hurries, and 24 STOPs.

2025 Outlook:

One of the things that makes college football such a cool sport is players like Abou-Jaoude who come from nowhere to have impact roles for big-stage programs. It could turn out he maxed out at Delaware and isn’t a 35-down player in the ACC, but the potential is there for Aboou-Jaoude to have a significant effect on Carolina’s defense.

Expectations for how he might contribute run the gamut, but don’t be surprised if he’s a regular in UNC’s rotation at defensive end.