Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel TE Planning to Enter Portal

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On a day that has been filled with transfer portal commitments for the Tar Heels, the team has just lost another tight end to the transfer portal.

As first reported by Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Tar Heel tight end Connor Cox is planning to enter his name into the transfer portal after spending just one season in Chapel Hill. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Cox, a former 3✮ prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, will depart UNC after just one year with the program where he played in ten games and started three of them. In 249 snaps, Cox caught just five passes for 21 yards on five targets, but was a crucial part of the team on run blocking downs, as he graded out with a 78.3 run block grade according to Pro Football Focus.

Prior to his time in Chapel Hill, he played just 40 snaps over two seasons at South Carolina, catching one pass for nine yards and a touchdown.

His departure is a big deal for a Tar Heel tight end room that has been completely gutted by graduations and transfers this offseason. As of right now, the team is expected to have just one player in the room that played snaps this season in the form of Shamar Easter, who played just 53 snaps this season. The team will have just two other scholarship tight ends on the roster in the form of true freshmen Carson Sneed and Dream Rashad, who both arrived on campus on Sunday as early enrollees. Walk-on Deems May III is also expected to return. With the room this thin, the team desperately needs to add at least one tight end who has some experience to have any hope of having a functional tight end room in 2026.