Transfer Portal Chaos Could Reap Reward For Tar Heels

CHAPEL HILL – A whole new recruiting season of sorts has exploded in recent weeks, though it doesn’t include high school prospects. The high probability the NCAA will waive its rule players must sit out a year before competing with a new school has the portal erupting with kids looking for new programs.

This affects North Carolina on two fronts: The Tar Heels have already lost several players that have entered their names in the portal, and Mack Brown’s staff is keeping an eye on who else becomes available. The staff held out a few open scholarships with its class of 2021 just in case it wants to bring in a transfer.

Anyone who follows @RivalsPortal on Twitter, knows the constant activity of players formally looking for new homes is rampant. It is never ending.

“There's a craziness out there with the transfer portal right now and especially with the young guys being allowed to transfer and play immediately,” Brown said last Monday, during his end-of-season press conference.

First, UNC has lost six scholarship players just in the last month: Jace Ruder; Triston Miller; Xach Gill; Lancine Turay; Toe Groves; and Patrice Rene. Matthew Flint also moved on, but he didn't participate this past season. Fifteen players who were on the UNC roster last spring have entered the portal, many of whom have found new schools.

A senior this past fall, Rene was introduced on senior day, so the staff knew he was moving on. And normally, his college eligibility would be up, but with the NCAA giving every athlete this year back, Rene can attend grad school and still play somewhere else for a season.

Additionally, three of the aforementioned former Tar Heels have committed to schools. Miller is headed to Arizona State, and Gill and Turay are going to Temple.

“You'll see some guys leaving our program here over the next week or two, getting in the portal, most of them graduate transfers, a few that aren't playing as much as they would like,” Brown said Monday.

“And we've been very open and honest with everybody and we'll help them get places to go. And that is a high priority for us that we help our guys get to another university, whether they're a graduate or not, to try to make sure that they have an opportunity to continue to play.”

As for UNC, the most obvious need is at running back, as the Heels lost both Michael Carter and Javonte Williams, who combined to run for 4,321 yards and 36 touchdowns the last two seasons as well as catch 88 passes for another 902 yards and eight scores. Defensive line is another area the staff is on watch for, but Brown was clear they only want someone that can make next year’s team better.

The staff may not have to kick over too many stones finding the right player or two, if it even heads in that direction. North Carolina is on the rise and becoming the program Brown envisioned when he was hired two years ago. Part of his mission was to make it the “cool place to be,” and he’s achieving that.

UNC is also winning, and has done so with flare. The trajectory of the program is clearly upward, so unsurprisingly kids are interested in Carolina. Some are checking around before formally entering the portal.

“We've had a lot of guys calling us,” Brown said. “We can't talk to them unless they're in the portal. A lot of them call your players that are buddies and say, ‘Can we come?’ So, we have some scholarships available and we'll continue to look at the portal to see if there's some needs that we might need to fill over the next week or two.”

As for graduate transfers, they must be accepted into the chosen grad program at UNC like any other student, generally peaking there are no waivers for athletes. There is also the issue with how transfers are counted against the scholarship numbers on the active roster and with respect to the current recruiting class.

"If you sign a grad transfer, he counts towards your 85, but he does not count against your '22 recruiting class," Brown explained. "So, he would be a one-year player that comes in and fills in with a need if you’ve got some great young players but you don't have an older guy in that group yet. If you sign a transfer, then he'll probably be eligible immediately with this new rule, but he counts against your '22 signing class because he takes a spot on your team. So that means that if we take a transfer, he better be good enough that we’re not going to recruit a '22 in his place, and that's the dilemma you go through.

“The other thing is if the grad transfer can come in January and go through spring practice, that’s better than if a guy has to go through spring to graduate and then you don’t get him until May. So then you’ve got to decide, is he going to be better without spring practice then a guy that’s a young guy on your team that’ growing up.”

The transfer portal is a bit of a circus, but it could also serve UNC well. If the Tar Heels can find a player that makes them better and is a good fit in every aspect, the staff will likely make it happen.