Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel DB Who Entered Portal Expect to Return to UNC

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Yesterday, the Tar Heels lost a promising piece to the transfer portal, but it appears that may no longer be the case.

As first reported by Inside Carolina on Thursday morning, the Tar Heels are expected to retain defensive back Greg Smith after he entered the transfer portal yesterday. He still has three years of eligibility remaining at the college level.

Smith, who transferred in from Florida last offseason, will return to Chapel Hill after a redshirt freshman 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.

This is an important retention for the Tar Heels because of just how impactful Smith was as a hybrid linebacker/safety on pass-heavy downs. He will have to prove he can be impactful on obvious run downs if his role is going to expand, but there should be a pretty substantial role with this team. Now, the team needs to focus on getting another starting corner on the outside to put opposite Jaiden Patterson.