It has been a much quieter day around Chapel Hill in terms of the transfer portal, but just a short time ago, the team saw their fifth departure of the transfer window in the form of a reserve linebacker, who is also a valuable member of the special teams unit.
Junior walk-on linebacker and special teamer Jalen Brooks announced via social media that he will be entering his name into the transfer portal after four seasons in Chapel Hill. Brooks will have two years of eligibility remaining at the college level.
Brooks, who was originally committed to Army out of high school and played at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School in 2019 before coming to Carolina to play under Jay Bateman again, played in 30 games in his four years, with the majority of snaps coming on special teams. He was top three on the team in special team snaps in the last two years and registered all five of his career tackles in that role the past two years.
This may not seem like a big deal, especially at linebacker, but it will have a little bit of an impact on special teams. The good news is, the unit needs an overhaul anyways and hopefully new more reliable faces can emerge this offseason, including someone to replace the very steady Brooks.