Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels to Host 2026 TE from New Zealand

@natesalmon_- Twitter

The Tar Heels are looking to add another tight end to their 2026 recruiting class and on Tuesday, one of those targets revealed that he will be taking an official visit to Chapel Hill later this month.

As he announced via social media, 2026 TE Nathaniel Salmon will be taking an official visit with UNC November 18th thru 20th. This is one of three official visits that Salmon will take this month, joining Arizona State (Nov. 15) and Utah (Nov. 22).

Salmon, who is currently unranked in the 2026 class, is a former professional basketball player from New Zealand that is trying his hand at football. Back in the winter, he trained for 10 weeks at IMG Academy, working at the tight end position, before eventually being invited to Los Angeles Chargers rookie minicamp back in May. After he was not signed by the Chargers for training camp, he began pursuing eligibility with the NCAA and was cleared back in October with four years of eligibility.

Salmon, who measures in at 6’6, 270 lbs., is one of six tight ends that the Tar Heels are targeting right now in the 2026 class. The team just hosted 4✮ Gavin Mueller and 3✮ ArMari Towns over the weekend and previously hosted 3✮ Marcus Monroe and 3✮ Gavin Gregory. The team also is set to host 3✮ Dream Rashad for the game against Duke, so there are plenty of targets at the position to fill the void left behind by two decommitments earlier this week.