Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel Kicker Deemed Eligible in Indiana Court Ruling
After missing the first three games of the season because of a battle with the NCAA for eligibility, Tar Heel kicker Rece Verhoff is now officially available to play.
Verhoff was one of 97 student athletes that were a part of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against the NCAA that was granted by an Indiana judge in Monroe County circuit court on Wednesday afternoon. The lawsuit is challenging the NCAA’s age-based model for players from the 2022 recruiting class that played four seasons without a redshirt year.
As part of this ruling, three Tar Heel field hockey players (Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Bruning) have been cleared to play, as well.
The All-ACC honorable mention is back for a second season where he will hope to stabilize a struggling kicking game. After a solid three-year stint at Marshall, Verhoff put together a career season in Chapel Hill, hitting all 20 of his extra point attempts and nailing 19 of 23 field goals, including one from a school-record 57 yards in the game against Wake Forest late in the season. He also handled kickoff duties for the team last season, averaging 64.4 yards per kick and sending 39 for touchbacks on 52 kickoffs.
This is a huge sigh of relief for a placekicking game that has had some major issues in each of the first three games. Aeron Burrell has handled the duties in each of the first three games and has missed one field goal in each of them. This past Saturday, it was very costly and contributed to the Tar Heels’ collapse against Clemson. Having Verhoff and the accuracy that he brings from long range is going to be a valuable attribute for a Tar Heel offense that is still working through some things offensively, especially when they cross midfield. For now, Burrell can turn his focus to punting and kickoffs, where has had some nice success so far.
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