Lance King- Getty Images Tar Heel fans are hoping for a new starting quarterback in 2026 after a rough season with Gio Lopez at the helm, but as Pete Nakos of On3 Sports is reporting, he isn’t going to be giving that job up without a fight. According to Nakos, Lopez, who signed a two-year deal last offseason with the Tar Heels, is expected to return to Chapel Hill for the 2026 season. The redshirt sophomore still has two years of eligibility remaining at the college level. Lo

CBS Sports It’s been a busy day for the UNC football program, starting with the expected hire of Bobby Petrino as the new offensive coordinator, after Freddie Kitchens was hired after one season on the job. But that’s not the only big news on the offensive side of the football, as shortly after that news broke, freshman QB Bryce Baker announced his decision to enter the transfer portal, after one season in Chapel Hill. Baker was the prize recruit of Belichick’s initial recrui

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

@ 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

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

@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

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

@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

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

@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

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

@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

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

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

Gregory Fisher- Getty Images After a quiet weekend on the transfer front, the Tar Heels have lost a contributor at the tight end position to the portal. As first reported by Pete Nakos on On3/Rivals, Tar Heels tight end Jake Johnson is following in his brother’s football footsteps and entering the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. He will have one year of eligibility remaining wherever he lands. Johnson spent two years with the Tar Heels, playing in all 25 games,

In the three day early signing window, the Tar Heels signed 39 members of 2026 class, the second most of anyone in college football behind only West Virginia. With all 39 commits that the team has having signed with the program, here is our breakdown of the class. Class Rankings 247Sports- Overall: No. 17 | ACC: No. 3 On3/Rivals- Overall: No. 17 | ACC: No. 3 ESPN- Overall: No. 12 | ACC: No. 2 4 ✮ S Jakob Weatherspoon- Avon (Avon, OH) 247Sports: No. 147 overall, No. 13 S On3/R

Gregory Fisher- Getty Images Friday has been a big day of portal entries and the most significant one of the day came in the running room. As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals, Tar Heel running back Davion Gause will enter his name into the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. He will have two years of eligibility remaining. In his two seasons with the program, Gause played in 24 games, including the lone start of his career in last year’s Fenway Bowl aga

@KhalilCon1ey- Twitter The portal entries just keep rolling in and the most recent comes in the defensive backfield where the team loses another depth piece. As first announced by Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Tar Heel cornerback Khalil Conley will enter his name into the transfer portal when it officially opens on January 2nd. The redshirt freshman, who spent two seasons in Chapel Hill, will have three years of eligibility remaining. Conley, a former 3✮ recruit, will enter the

@McVayMiles- Twitter Today has been another day full of portal entries and the biggest one of the day comes from a member of the offensive line whose role became expanded as the season went along. As he announced via social media, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Miles McVay will be entering his name into the transfer portal when it officially opens on January 2nd. The former Alabama transfer will have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands. In McVay’s lone s

Bleacer Report After two seasons with the UNC football program, veteran QB Max Johnson announced his decision to transfer away from the Tar Heels. Johnson joined Carolina two years ago, when he transferred in from Texas A&M, committing to play for Mack Brown. He opened as the starter for the team in the season opener at Minnesota, where he suffered a gruesome leg injury that forced him to miss the rest of the 2024 season. After Carolina added Gio Lopez in the spring portal la