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Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Closing In on Big Splash with OC Hire
Alex Slitz- Getty Images After a dismal year on offense for the Tar Heels under Bill Belichick, the team needed to make a strong hire at offensive coordinator and on Monday morning, they did just that. As first reported by Chris Low, Pete Nakos and Inside Carolina, Bobby Petrino has agreed to become the Tar Heels next offensive coordinator. This move follows the team’s firing of offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens after one season back on December 12th. According to a repo

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 22, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Another WR to Transfer Portal
@ The Tar Heels have lost some significant depth at the wide receiver position from this year’s roster and that continued on Sunday evening. As first reported by Inside Carolina, Tar Heels redshirt freshman wide receiver Alex Taylor is planning to enter his name into the transfer portal on January 2nd. He will have three years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands. In his two seasons in Chapel Hill, Taylor played in 11 games, starting the final game of the season against

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 21, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Ohio State Recap (CBS Sports Classic)
@UNCMBBStats In dramatic fashion, the Tar Heels got past Ohio State, 71-70, to improve to their first 11-1 start since the 2008-09 national championship season. When UNC took an 11-point lead with under 8 minutes to play, it looked like they were going to cruise their way to another Quad 1 win, but give credit to the Buckeyes, and Bruce Thornton, they kept fighting, and took a three-point lead on a four-point play, going up 70-67 with under a minute to play. A nifty layup fro

Joshua Marlow
Dec 20, 20255 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Ohio State Preview (CBS Sports Classic)
@UNCMBBStats After beating ETSU on Tuesday, the Tar Heels are back in action this afternoon, as they will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in what could be the final CBS Sports Classic. The win on Tuesday improved Carolina’s record to 10-1, their best start since the 2017-18 season, and it was powered by Henri Veesaar’s career-high, 26-point performance, as he and Caleb Wilson have formed arguably the best front-court duo in the country. Wilson added 20 points in the win, cont

Joshua Marlow
Dec 20, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Who Should the Tar Heels Target at QB in the Portal?
One of the main things that the Tar Heels need this offseason to improve next season is an upgrade at the starting quarterback position. While that improvement might come from either of the freshmen who were on the roster this year, the answer most likely lies in the transfer portal. After a big day of portal entries on Monday, here is a look at some of the names that the team should be considering in the search for their quarterback. Tier 1 Sam Leavitt Christian Petersen- Ge

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 19, 20256 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Senior Guard Seth Trimble Set to Return Against Ohio State
After missing over a month of action, including nine games, senior guard Seth Trimble is set to return to the lineup for tomorrow’s game against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic, according to Inside Carolina. Trimble, who suffered an arm injury in a workout after the big Kansas win back in the first week of the season, has been gearing up for his return for the last week, and is finally ready to compete on the court with his teammates, who led UNC to an 8-1 record without

Joshua Marlow
Dec 19, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose True Freshman DT to Portal
@DevinAncrum- Twitter The defensive line is a position where the Tar Heels were expecting to retain a lot of guys, but they have lost a couple of members to the transfer portal in the last few days. As first reported by Chris Hummer of 247Sports, true freshman defensive lineman Devin Ancrum is entering the transfer portal after just one season with the program. He will have four years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands. In his lone season in Chapel Hill, Ancrum played

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 19, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Showing Interest in P4 CB Transfer
On3 Sports There hasn’t been a lot of buzz about transfer portal targets thus far, but one name did pop onto the radar earlier this week at defensive back. As first reported by Pete Nakos of On3/Rivals, the Tar Heels are amongst those showing early interest in Iowa State cornerback Quentin Taylor per his agency. Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Minnesota and Mississippi State are amongst those also expressing interest in him early on. Taylor, who has three years of eligi

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 18, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel CB Accepts Invite to Senior Bowl
@b0ssmanboomin- Instagram Believe it or not, with football season nearing its end, it is time for the various showcase games to start handing out their invitations for their events. On Thursday, it was announced that a member of the Tar Heels will be heading to Mobile, AL in late January for the Panini Senior Bowl. As revealed by the official Senior Bowl account, Tar Heel cornerback Thaddeus Dixon has been extended and accepted an invite to play in the event that will take pl

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 18, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: East Tennessee State Recap
Scott Kinser- Imagn Images On a night where ranked teams around college basketball were being tested by mid-major opponents, the Tar Heels messed around with East Tennessee State for the first half in the Smith Center before running away from the Buccaneers in the second half. The first half looked very similar to what we saw from the team against USC-Upstate, where the Buccaneers were able to get to their spots on the floor and score the ball while also ripping down offensiv

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 17, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Promising EDGE to Portal
Gregory Fisher- Getty Images We’ve seen a few significant transfer portal entries for the Tar Heels, but none as big as the one that was announced on Wednesday. As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals, Tar Heel sophomore edge rusher Tyler Thompson will be entering the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. He will have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he ends up. Thompson, a former 4✮ prospect, played in 27 games over the course of his three seasons

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 17, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: UNC Agrees to Home-And-Home Series With SEC Opponent
While the focus for Carolina Basketball is on ETSU tonight, the program was busy adding to its schedule for the 2026-27 season, adding a home-and-home with the Georgia Bulldogs out of the SEC. This is a two-game agreement that will be completed with a return trip to Athens for the 2028-29 season. UGA is set to visit Chapel Hill on November 13th of next season, making it the third straight season that UNC will play a marquee non-conference opponent in the first week of the reg

Joshua Marlow
Dec 16, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Add In-State Commitment in 2027 Class
@quisbryant- Instagram With the 39 commits in the 2026 class all signed, the Tar Heels have turned their attention to the 2027 class. On Tuesday, the team made a nice in-state addition to the class in the form of 4✮ S Marquis Bryant. As first reported by Inside Carolina, Bryant committed to the Tar Heels following two visits to Chapel Hill in the fall. Bryant, the No. 169 overall and No. 17 safety in the class according to Rivals Composite Rankings, just concluded his junior

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 16, 20252 min read


Heel Tough Blog: ETSU Preview
@UNC_Basketball After having to wait six days between the Georgetown win and the USC Upstate win, the Tar Heels are back in action just three days after beating the Spartans, as they host a solid ETSU team tonight in the Smith Center. The win over USC Upstate improved Carolina’s record to 9-1 on the season, the program’s best start since the 2017-18 season, when Carolina would earn a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After a 1-0 week, the Tar Heels find themselves now ranked 12

Joshua Marlow
Dec 16, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Set to Lose DB to Portal
Matt Krohn- USA Today Sports After a quiet week of portal entries last week, the Tar Heels are starting to see more defections roll in. The most recent comes from a member of the defensive back who played a key role on special teams the past couple of seasons. As first reported by Inside Carolina, Tar Heel defensive back Malcolm Ziglar is entering the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd after two seasons in Chapel Hill. He will have two years of eligibility remaining

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 15, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose True Freshman WR to the Portal
@kenedyuzoma_- Instagram After a quiet week of portal entries, the Tar Heels lost their 17th transfer to the portal on Saturday night in the form of another young wide receiver. As he announced via social media, true freshman wide receiver Kenedy Uzoma is entering the transfer portal after spending just one season with the program. He will have four years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands after taking a redshirt year this year. In his lone season in Chapel Hill, the

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 13, 20251 min read


Heel Tough Blog: USC Upstate Recap
@UNC_Basketball It wasn’t the best effort we’ve seen from the Tar Heels this season, but it was still good enough to earn an 80-62 win over USC Upstate, on a day where Carolina certainly didn’t play their best. Caleb Wilson led UNC once again, with his ACC-leading 7th double-double of the season, scoring 20 points, and grabbing 11 rebounds. He was 6-7 from the field, with a couple of highlight dunks, in the process. He would’ve had more points had he converted at the foul lin

Joshua Marlow
Dec 13, 20255 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Who Should Tar Heels Target at OC?
On Friday, the Tar Heels moved on from offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens following one of the most disappointing offensive seasons in recent memory for the Tar Heels. They must now find a replacement that can vastly improve this side of the football to be able to meet the expectations that will be on the table for the team in Year 2 under Bill Belichick. Here’s a look at some candidates that the Tar Heels should consider for the vacancy. Chip Kelly Tom Hauck- Getty Image

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 13, 20253 min read


Heel Tough Blog: USC Upstate Preview
@UNC_Basketball After not having a mid-week game due to exams on campus, the Tar Heels return to action this afternoon against USC-Upstate from the Big South conference. The last time we saw Carolina, they routed Georgetown 81-61, to improve to 8-1 on the season, and 6-0 at home. That win was powered by the lethal combination of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, who have emerged as one of the best duos in all of college basketball, combining to average 35 points and nearly 20 r

Joshua Marlow
Dec 13, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Part Ways With Two Coordinators
Sports Illustrated It took a while, but on Friday, the Tar Heels finally made some changes to their coaching staff following a disappointing first season of the Bill Belichick era. As first reported by Inside Carolina, the Tar Heels have parted ways with offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. Kitchens departs after one season as the team’s offensive coordinator, a spot he was elevated to by Belichick after spending two seasons as a

Anthony Pagnotta
Dec 12, 20252 min read
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