As of Monday morning, it appears that the Tar Heels have lost their second tight end of the offseason to the transfer portal, according to an Inside Carolina report from Ross Martin.
Junior tight end Noah Turner has reportedly entered his name into the transfer portal, becoming the ninth Tar Heel to enter the 2020 transfer portal. In his four seasons on campus, Turner was never able to see significant snaps, failing to make a reception in his career. Turner was a valuable part of the special teams unit, however, and with all that was departing this offseason at tight end, was expected to have an opportunity to compete for rotational reps this season.
Instead, the Tar Heels tight end group grows a little younger, something that shouldn’t be of too much concern, though, with the Phil Longo system. Having a reliable tight end is welcome, but the position isn’t as crucial for success as in some systems. That being said, the position is still in good shape with Turner’s transfer. Junior Garrett Walston will return after taking over the starting role late in the season. The only other scholarship tight end to return from this past season now that Turner is gone will be true freshman Kamari Morales, who didn’t see much of a role on offense this season, but was an early enrollee a year ago. The good news is that the Tar Heels have brought in two tight ends in the early signing period in John Copenhaver and Kendall Karr, both of whom will have a chance to play early. If Jefferson Boaz isn’t able to pan out at quarterback, there is a strong chance he could join the group at some point this season as well. While the loss definitely leaves a mark depthwise, this loss shouldn’t have a major impact.
The biggest question many have is whether or not this will effect any on the ability to allow Quincy Roche to early enroll if he was to select Carolina as his transfer destination. That situation seems to no longer be in play, as the deadline to early enroll at Carolina closed yesterday. The bad news is, a few of the other schools in the running for him have later early enrollment deadline, meaning there is a chance he could early enroll somewhere else. If he was to push his decision back beyond those remaining early enrolling deadlines, the Tar Heels will once again be back in play for him to enroll in the summer. Locking down his commitment won’t be an easy task, but the fact that the Tar Heels still appear to be in the race is the good news.
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