Heel Tough Blog: Taron Dickens No Longer Planning to Attend UNC

Western Carolina Athletics

The quarterback battle for the Tar Heels is one of the big storylines of the offseason and on Friday morning, there was some important news surrounding it that became public.

As first reported by Inside Carolina, Western Carolina quarterback transfer Taron Dickens will no longer attend UNC this fall and will re-enter the transfer portal. This move follows some rumors around his academic eligibility with the school that surfaced earlier in the offseason. Dickens signed with the Tar Heels back in February and was set to join the team for fall camp.

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.

With his decommitment, the Tar Heels will now focus on the group that they had with them in the spring as they search for their starter. Transfers Billy Edwards Jr. and Miles O’Neill appear to lead the way after spring ball but that doesn’t mean that you should count out redshirt freshman Au’Tori Newkirk or true freshman Travis Burgess. 

Don’t get it wrong, this a bit of a blow based on the prospects of what he could have been with his production at Western Carolina, but it is not a death blow for this room. Edwards reportedly had a solid camp that has him way ahead of where Gio Lopez was last year and the other three guys on scholarship in the room have plenty of potential. This room should still be much more productive than last year’s was which should make for a more efficient and explosive offense.