The Tar Heels were hit with a slew of NFL Draft decisions on Monday, including quarterback Drake Maye and linebacker Cedric Gray who announced they will not play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on December 27th. Shortly after those decisions, it was revealed that the program will be without five other members of the team against West Virginia and that two others who have already announced their decision to transfer will stay behind and help the team.
The biggest losses outside of the players heading to the draft will be tight ends Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver, who will miss the game due to lower-body injuries. Their absences along with Kamari Morales entering the transfer portal and choosing not to play means that the Tar Heel will not have 98.7% of the snaps played there this season. True freshman Julien Randolph, who is the future of the room, will also be unavailable after he suffered a season ending lower-body injury back at the tail end of fall camp. With all four of the scholarship tight ends on the shelf, redshirt freshmen Deems May III and Cal Tierney and true freshman Cort Halsey will be the only players available at the position for the game. May III will likely be the guy that gets the most run, but there could be a lot of four and five wide receiver sets in this game and other times where the team could use extra offensive linemen on run downs.
Reserve offensive lineman Zach Rice will also miss the game with a lower-body injury. This is a tough blow for Rice, who the staff may have attempted to get more of a look at with so many members of the interior offensive line departing after the game, but the Tar Heels should be fine with Ed Montilus and William Barnes both expected to be available at this time.
Backup quarterback Jefferson Boaz, who officially entered the transfer portal last Monday, will suit up on last time for the Tar Heels before heading out. It is unclear as to whether or not he’ll play quarterback or make the move to tight end, the spot that the Tar Heels originally wanted him to play when they were recruiting him.
Defensively, the Tar Heels will once again be without starting nickelback Alijah Huzzie, who was hurt in the first half against Clemson and missed the game against NC State. That means D.J. Jones, who announced earlier today that he will be entering the transfer portal, will likely make one last start on his way out the door for the team. This also likely means more reps for true freshman Kaleb Cost with DeAndre Boykins, last year’s starter in the nickel, still on the shelf with a groin injury.
Safety Will Hardy will also miss the game with a lower-body injury. The Tar Heels should be fine here, though, with starters Don Chapman and Giovanni Biggers and prime rotational man Stick Lane all expected to play.