4/24/2023 football Edit

Ja'Qurious Conley Enters Transfer Portal

UNC defensive back Ja'Qurious Conley is the latest Tar Heel to enter the transfer portal. (Jacob Turner/THI)

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

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Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

Ja’Qurious Conley, one of the gems of North Carolina’s highly touted recruiting class of 2020, has entered the transfer portal.

Conley became a starter late in his true freshman season in 2020 and was a starter in 2021 until suffering a torn ACL in a win over Wofford in UNC’s 11th game of the season. He caught the opening kickoff kick and started returning it for just the ninth time that season, but was hit on his left knee at the 17-yeard-line and was done for the season.

The Jacksonville, NC, native went through a 10-plus month period of rehab before working his way back onto the field last season, playing two games on special teams before aggravating the knee again.

“I had eight knee operations, and everybody responds differently, and his was really tough,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said last season when discussing Conley’s process in returning to the field.

Conley participated all spring, first wearing a wrap on his knee, and later without one. The decision to enter the portal came as a result of meetings with coaches last week.

Conley played 787 defensive snaps for the Tar Heels and 233 special teams plays. He finished his UNC career with 80 tackles, two interceptions, five PBUs, a fumble recovery, and returned nine kickoffs for 197 yards with a long of 40 yards.