Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Another Key DL to the Portal

Katherine Gawlik- Icon Sportswire

Defensive tackle was the one spot on the Tar Heels’ roster that felt secure coming into the offseason, but after the last two days, that is no longer the case.

After losing CJ Mims to the transfer portal on Saturday, the team got the news on Sunday that fellow defensive tackle D’Antre Robinson is leaving the team, as well, and heading to the transfer portal. He will have two years of eligibility remaining at the college level wherever he lands.

Robinson, who transferred to UNC last offseason from Florida, departs Chapel Hill after one productive season with the Tar Heels. He played in all 12 games for the team, including two starts for the team against TCU and UCF, and collected 39 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 a sack, nine total quarterback pressures and a forced fumble.

Prior to his time with the Tar Heels, Robinson played 162 snaps on defense and seven snaps on special teams across eleven games for Florida as a true freshman. He finished the season with 17 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two total quarterback hurries.

This is another major blow for a defensive tackle position that was expecting to have all of its major contributors back with the team for 2026. With Mims and Robinson gone, it is going to be up to a highly-touted group of true freshmen to produce at least one contributor for this season. The team may also need to explore the transfer portal to see if they can find someone with experience to be a part of this year’s defensive tackle rotation.