Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Promising EDGE to Portal

Gregory Fisher- Getty Images

We’ve seen a few significant transfer portal entries for the Tar Heels, but none as big as the one that was announced on Wednesday.

As first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3/Rivals, Tar Heel sophomore edge rusher Tyler Thompson will be entering the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. He will have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he ends up.

Thompson, a former 4✮ prospect, played in 27 games over the course of his three seasons in Chapel Hill. After a quiet first season in 2023, he played 219 snaps across defense and special teams as a redshirt freshman, collecting five total tackles. This year was his breakout season despite not being a full-time starter, as he played 353 snaps across defense and special teams, piling up 25 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and 20 total quarterback pressures.

This departure is the most damaging one that the team has suffered thus far this offseason. Thompson became a key piece of what the Tar Heels did on obvious pass rushing downs and was poised to take another leap in 2026 with the team in what was likely going to be a more expansive role. With him gone, the team must now strongly consider going into the portal to grab a starting edge rusher to replace the production that he leaves behind. The team will also need some younger guys like Joseph Mupoyi, Daniel Anderson, Austin Alexander and Chinedu Onyeagoro to improve and provide some sort of rotational help this coming season.