Heel Tough Blog: Syracuse Transfer LB Commits to UNC

Rich Barnes- Imagn Images

As we talked about last night, linebacker was still a position of need for the Tar Heels, but they addressed that on Saturday afternoon.

As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports/Rivals, the Tar Heels have landed a commitment from Syracuse LB Derek McDonald following his visit to campus back on Monday. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

McDonald, who measures in at 6’4, 230 lbs., is coming off a successful five year stint with the Syracuse Orange where he played in 41 games for the teams. In the 1,469 snaps he played for the program, he collected 173 total tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He’s coming off a 2025 season where he missed the final nine games of the season due to a hip injury after two career years as an off-ball linebacker.

This is a very solid addition to the Tar Heels linebacking corps that needed another starting caliber play to go alongside Richmond transfer Peyton Seelmann. McDonald might not be a dominant force, but he is a reliable piece that Tar Heel fans should be excited to have. With how many other needs this team has, they probably won’t add another linebacker through the portal, but it couldn’t hurt if they feel they are set in some other positions.