Heel Tough Blog: Three Players to Miss Spring Practice

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On Tuesday morning, prior to the team taking the field for their first practice of the season, head coach Bill Belichick spoke with the media for the first time this year as he provided updates on where everything is with the Tar Heel football program. Among the things addressed in this presser was the fact that three Tar Heels who are officially enrolled and a part of the team will not be participating in spring practice.

Belichick revealed in his opening statement that linebacker Jordan Avinger, defensive back David Davis and cornerback Reggie Love II will be out for the entirety of spring practice. He did not specify what the reasons were and did not say whether or not the players were expected to be ready for fall camp.

Love II, who enters his redshirt junior year with the team, originally joined the team as a walk-on under Mack Brown and was one of the guys who decided to stay through the transition to the Belichick era. In his three seasons with the program, Love II has played in one game so far in his career which came last year in the game against Richmond. He played 15 snaps on defense and one on special teams, getting targeted twice in coverage and failing to allow either of those passes to be caught while registering one pass breakup.

Davis, the No. 456 overall prospect and No. 46 cornerback in the 2026 class according to Rivals Composite, is in his first spring with the team after signing with them officially back in December. This past season, as a senior at Imani Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, PA, he registered 30 total tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, four interceptions, six pass breakups and a forced fumble on defense and totaled 1,170 scrimmage yards and 16 total touchdowns on 55 touches on offense across ten games.

Avinger, the No. 1454 overall prospect and No. 132 linebacker in the 2026 class according to Rivals Composite, is also in his first season with the Tar Heel program following his signing back in December. Last year, as a senior at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, SC, he played in just seven games and racked up 38 total tackles and an interception on the defensive side of the football and ran for 358 yards and five touchdowns on just 26 carries on the offensive side of the ball.

The hope is that we can get further updates on these players as we go throughout the spring and into the summer months as they look to potentially return for fall camp in August. The good news is that the rest of the roster seems to be relatively healthy and those that are working through something are able to still participate here in the spring for a group that looks to have better numbers in terms of bodies than a year ago.