The Tar Heels entered Saturday’s ACC Championship Game with ten scholarship cornerbacks on the roster but after the transfer of Storm Duck around dinner time last night, the team was down to just five. However, earlier this morning, the team got some good news in that room with the news that a player was withdrawing his name and coming back.
Via social media this morning, Ladaeson DeAndre Hollins announced that he will be returning to Chapel Hill for his final season after initially announcing his intentions to enter the portal on Saturday. Hollins played the fewest snaps of his career thus far this season, playing 151 snaps total, only 12 of which came on the defensive side of the football. In his five seasons with the team, Hollins has played 1,025 snaps, 666 of which came on the defensive side of the football, racking 39 total tackles, one interception and six pass breakups.
This is a big addition for the team in terms of depth at corner and also gives the team back a major special teams contributor. The Tar Heels also need the experience with both Tony Grimes and Storm Duck departing, leaving Obi Egbuna as the only remaining upperclassman in the room right now. DeAndre Boykins is locked in at that nickelback position but the other four corners in the room combined to play just 375 snaps this season.
Along with Hollins's return, the team is also looking at adding someone from the portal at the position. According to Inside Carolina, the team will be hosting East Tennessee State transfer Alijah Huzzie, an FCS All-American who recorded 59 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions and 22 pass deflections. The team also extended an offer to Virginia Tech grad transfer Armani Chatman, who has had 89 total tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and 20 pass deflections.
Getting Hollins back is big for a Tar Heel secondary that has been ravaged so far by the portal in terms of both depth and experience. If they could add even one of these two transfer targets, that could go a long way to at least helping to reestablish the depth.
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