Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Sign Western Carolina Transfer QB

Western Carolina Athletics

Following the additions of Kaleb Jackson and Brandon Homady, it appeared that the Tar Heels were done adding guys out of the portal. As we learned on Sunday morning, though, that is not the case.

As first reported by Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, the Tar Heels have signed Western Carolina transfer quarterback Taron Dickens out of the portal. He is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining in Chapel Hill.

Dickens, 5’11, 180 lbs., is coming off of a sophomore campaign for the Tar Heels where he finished with 3,508 yards, 38 touchdowns and two interceptions on 74.2% completions through the air and 97 carries for 321 yards and a touchdown on the ground in just nine games.

The year prior, as a redshirt freshman, he took over the starting job late in the season from Cole Gonzales and finished 3-1 down the stretch for the Catamounts as a starter. He finished the season completing 73.8% of his passes for 1,428 yards, 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions while also running for 56 yards and two touchdowns on 58 attempts.

For his career, Dickens is completing 74.0% of his passes for 5,063 yards, 51 touchdowns and five interceptions while also running for 371 yards and three touchdowns on 161 carries.

This addition is a little confusing time-wise, but does add another interesting option to battle for the starting quarterback job when he arrives. The biggest concern about him is going to be his height, but the stats would show you that it hasn’t held him back so far at the college level. This will be a significant step up in competition for him, but it’s still a risk worth taking with just how high his ceiling could be. He should be fierce competition for Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr., Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill, second-year freshman Au’Tori Newkirk and true freshman Travis Burgess if he can take care of things in the classroom.