BOSTON – As the postseason so regularly goes in the modern era of college football, North Carolina’s available roster continues changing right up to the eve of the Tar Heels’ game against Connecticut in the Fenway Bowl on Saturday.
The most recent news, confirmed by a source very close to the situation, is that All-American guard Willie Lampkin will not play in the game, choosing to opt out at virtually the last moment.
Lampkin, a transfer from Coastal Carolina where he was Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2022, spent the last two seasons at UNC playing both guard spots and even starting at center last season in the Tar Heels’ loss to West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Lampkin was largely a center the year he was honored by the Sun Belt.
At just 5-foot-11 and 290 pounds, Lampkin graded out at 82.3 this season, the second highest on the team after running back Omarion Hampton, who has entered his name in the NFL Draft foregoing his senior season and is also not playing in the game.
Lampkin played 851 snaps this season after playing 816 a year ago. In his college career, Lampkin played a remarkable 4,122 snaps combined for the Chanticleers and Tar Heels.
It was expected all along he would play against the Huskies, but a decision was made after the Tar Heels arrived in Boston on Tuesday.
In addition, THI previously reported multiple times that backup quarterback Conner Harrell was going to dress for the game and be available. That was the plan for a couple of weeks, and he practiced with the team. But a source very close to the situation confirmed Friday afternoon that Harrell is not with the team in Boston.
He entered the transfer portal a few weeks ago and even visited Eastern Michigan earlier this week. One of the reasons UNC decided to accept a bowl invitation was because it thought it would go into a bowl game with three scholarship quarterbacks, as starter Jacolby Criswell and true freshman Michael Merdinger would be the other two.
With Harrell having moved on, only Criswell and Merdinger will dress for the game as scholarship quarterbacks, and Medinger entered the transfer portal a few days ago. Walk-on Hudson Wilharm is with the team, and a source within the team said he would be trusted to run the offense if none of the scholarship QBs could play.
A boost to the running back room for next season arrived Friday when Caleb Hood removed his name from the portal and he will be back for one more year, plus he is absolutely playing in the game. Hood had been practicing all along once the Heels started up practice for the bowl. A source close to the situation maintained all along Hood missed just one practice.
As of this writing, among the notable Tar Heels not playing Saturday include Kaimon Rucker, who is out with an injury and is preparing for the NFL draft. Also, safety Stick Lane, linebacker Power Echols, and defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie are not in Boston, as they have opted out and are preparing for the NFL.
On offense, Bryson Nesbit remains injured and is not playing, plus starting left tackle Howard Sampson transferred to Texas Tech. Hampton is not playing, and now Lampkin isn’t. A candidate to step in for Lampkin would have been Malik McGowan, but he entered the portal last weekend and is not here.
Perhaps freshman Luke Masterson of third-year Virginian and former 5-star prospect Zach Rice will get a shot to play. Masterson has played 82 snaps this season while Rice has been in the game for only 16 and has logged just 44 offensive snaps in his career.
As for junior defensive tackle Travis Shaw, multiple sources close to the situation have said he was having “conversations” with the new growing UNC staff, but as of the evening before the bowl game, nothing had been decided. Shaw entered the portal two weeks ago and remains in there.
Shaw is in Boston with the team but no sources will say if he’s playing Saturday or not.
