Heel Tough Blog: Promising UNC DB Enters the Portal

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Over the weekend, the Tar Heels lost two impactful defensive players to the portal and on Wednesday the team lost another promising young player on that side of the ball.

As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports/Rivals, Tar Heel defensive back Greg Smith is entering the transfer portal. He will have three years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands.

Smith, who transferred in from Florida last offseason, is leaving Chapel Hill after just one season where he played in all 12 games with the teams. In 273 snaps, he collected 25 total tackles, one total quarterback pressure and one interception. More importantly, he has an outstanding season in coverage, allowing just eight of his fourteen targets to be caught for 50 yards and just a 34.8 quarterback rating when targeted.

Most will probably look at this as the loss of a backup defensive back, but Smith is an important loss because of how valuable he was for the team on obvious passing downs, especially down the stretch of the season where he played 30+ snaps in each of the final five games. He was also probably primed for a bigger role this season at either safety or linebacker for the team, so this will not be an easy player to replace. With his transfer, another scholarship is freed up and the team should be looking to find someone of a similar ilk to Smith who can play some significant snaps at hybrid linebacker on obvious passing downs.