The Tar Heels have had a pretty active week in the portal as they look to start filling some of the scholarships that have been freed up by the outgoing transfer. Earlier today, the team landed Georgia OL Austin Blaske following his visit on Thursday. Ahead of a weekend fill with transfer visits, here is a look at who the Tar Heels are tied to and where things stand with each of them.
Offers
Joey Slackman- Penn
With the Tar Heels being one of many Power 5 offers on the table for Slackman, it was hard to determine where exactly they stood, but this week provided plenty of clarity. He spent the last two days in Chapel Hill on an official visit, which has allowed them to firmly establish themselves as one of the top contenders to land his services. Slackman may have canceled his trip to Ann Arbor, but he still has official visits with Virginia Tech and Auburn this weekend to go along with the ones he has already taken to Wisconsin and Florida. With the struggles that the Tar Heels have had developing defensive linemen under defensive line coach Tim Cross, it’s hard to feel overly confident about this one, but you can’t count them out either.
Howard Sampson- North Texas
Sampson took a visit to campus last Friday and things have been quiet for him ever since. It feels like his connection with offensive line coach Randy Clements is strong and that this is one that the Tar Heels might be holding off on to see if there is a bigger name that they want to bring in at the tackle spot.
Tyrane Stewart- East Mississippi Community College
Stewart’s recruitment is only just getting revved up because of EMCC’s run to the NJCAA Division I national title game. EMCC fell short on Wednesday night and that means things should start heating up quickly in terms of visits for him. This one is a wait and see, but judging by the offers that he has, the Tar Heels should have a legitimate shot if they really want him.
In Contact With
Nyland Green- Georgia
Green might be the most highly regarded prospect that the Tar Heels have ever been involved with in the transfer portal and this is one that the team has a legit shot to land. The connections to Carolina are strong with co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Charlton Warren having been the guy that got him to Georgia and running backs coach Larry Porter having been his primary recruiter for Auburn. The Tar Heels will host him over the weekend and have a chance to set a high bar, especially with there being a chance that it could be his last visit. Arkansas is currently hosting him for a visit and it will come down to them and Carolina for his services. The Tar Heel staff has to feel pretty confident about where they’re at heading into the weekend.
Jake Johnson- Texas A&M
The brother of current incoming transfer Max Johnson, Jake Johnson, is currently visiting campus as we speak. There has been much buzz around Johnson that doesn’t involve him reuniting with his brother in Chapel Hill, so the Tar Heels have to love their chances here.
Jordan Waters- Duke
Brad Crawford of 247Sports reported on Thursday that the Tar Heels are one of eight schools that have been in contact with Waters to this point. Considering he was a starter for Duke and was pretty productive this season in that role. The Tar Heels are looking for someone to compete for the backup job behind Omarion Hampton, who is expected to return, and I highly doubt he is looking for that type of role when others he has talked to likely view him as their lead back.
Mumu Bin-Wahad- Connecticut
JGPVisuals reported that the Tar Heels are one of 17 schools that have been in contact with Bin-Wahad as of Tuesday. Things still seem to be in the early stages here and it’s hard to tell how serious of a contender they are for him at this point.
Raleek Brown- USC
Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports reported on Tuesday evening that the Tar Heels were among the 20 schools that had been in contact with Brown since he entered the transfer portal. There are some heavy hitters on this list, so it’s hard to feel great about the Tar Heels chances here, but if they want him, Mack Brown and Larry Porter have strong track records with running backs that might entice him.
Kelly Akharaiyi- UTEP
The Portal Report initially reported last week that the Tar Heels were in contact with Akharaiyi, but there is now a conflicting report. JGPVisuals revealed the 31 schools that he has heard from since entering the portal and Carolina was not one of the schools that came up. It doesn’t really seem like it would matter much if they were in contact with him and it feels like the team really isn’t even looking to add to the wide receiver room through the portal.
Out of the Running
Ethan Miner- North Texas
Miner committed to Mississippi State on Thursday dealing a bit of a blow for the Tar Heels search for interior offensive linemen. The team desperately needs to add some veterans here with Corey Gaynor, Ed Montilus and William Barnes all departing from this year's group. Miner would have been a great addition, but now the staff has to start searching elsewhere.
Aeneas Peebles- Duke
This one isn’t really shocking, but the Tar Heels were not one of the five that he deemed to still be alive for his services on Wednesday. This is a position where the Tar Heels still need to add at least one fresh face to with Myles Murphy departing.