CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The college football
transfer portal window runs from Dec. 9-28, a stretch of 20 days following the conference championship games. Another 10-day window opens in April for transfer entries. NCAA rules allow players on teams with coaching changes to enter the transfer portal the day after those decisions are rendered. The NCAA allows players to enter when a head coach departs, and Dec. 1 marked Mack Brown's final day on the job in charge of the program. Bill Belichick's tenure began on Dec. 11.
We're tracking the latest round of
transfer portal movement here, profiling those joining and departing the Tar Heels during this transfer cycle.
Leaving UNC through the transfer portal:
OL
Eli Sutton — entered Dec. 2, next stop: TBA
RB
Jordan Louie — entered Dec. 3, next stop: TBA
OL
Zach Greenberg — entered Dec. 3, next stop: TBA
RB
Caleb Hood — entered Dec. 3, next stop: TBA
QB
Conner Harrell — entered Dec. 4, next stop: TBA
OL
Andrew Rosinski — entered Dec. 9, next stop: TBA
DL
Travis Shaw — entered Dec. 10, next stop: TBA
OL
Howard Sampson — entered Dec. 10, next stop: TBA
K
Noah Burnette — entered Dec. 11, next stop: TBA
WR
Kobe Paysour — entered Dec. 13, next stop: TBA
Staying at UNC after entering the transfer portal:
OL
Austin Blaske — entered Dec. 9, withdrew Dec. 11
OL
Aidan Banfield — entered Dec. 9, withdrew Dec. 12
LB
Amare Campbell — entered Dec. 9, withdrew Dec. 14
(Jeremiah Holloway contributed to this report)
STAYING — Amare Campbell
Promising linebacker Amare Campbell is pulling out the transfer portal, 247Sports learned on Saturday (Dec. 14), three days after UNC hired Bill Belichick as its new football coach. Campbell had been one of the highest-ranked linebackers in the portal, before removing his name from transfer consideration.
He made a substantial leap this season as a sophomore at North Carolina, recording 72 tackles, 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Campbell's sack count tied him with Beau Atkinson and Jahvaree Ritzie for the most in the team. Campbell joined the team as a three-star linebacker in the class of 2023 out of Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed. He was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 35 player in Virginia and the No. 109 linebacker in the country.
Campbell made his first collegiate start in the Duke's Mayo Bowl last season, and he started all 12 games at linebacker for North Carolina this season. He recorded a career-high nine tackles in UNC's season finale against N.C. State.
UNC linebacker Amare Campbell celebrates at Minnesota. (Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
STAYING — OL AIDAN BANFIELD
Three days after entering the portal (and one day after Bill Belichick's hire was announced), true freshman Aidan Banfield decided to exit the portal and return to UNC. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder emerged as a training camp surprise during the preseason, and earned the starting nod at left guard for the Tar Heels.
He went on to play in 10 games this season while logging 606 snaps, the fifth-highest workload among true freshman offensive linemen on the power-conference level, per data from Pro Football Focus (PFF). Banfield's snap count registered as the second-highest for true freshman offensive linemen in the ACC, behind only Stanford's Kahlil House. UNC coaches thought so much of Banfield's contributions this season that they nominated him for the ACC's Offensive Rookie of the Year award, alongside notable skill-position players such as Louisville running back Isaac Brown (who won the honor), Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein and NC State quarterback CJ Bailey.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina)
OUT — WR KOBE PAYSOUR
The rising senior wide receiver plans to depart the program after four years in Chapel Hill. Paysour has career totals of 70 catches for 936 yards and seven touchdowns over three seasons.
The Kings Mountain, N.C. had 19 catches for 330 yards this season, with a high of four catches for 93 yards against James Madison. He seemed on track for a career year as a sophomore in 2023, with 22 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the first five games, including a dazzling, tipped 77-yard score against Syracuse, only to suffer a foot injury several days later that turned into a string of three foot surgeries that sidelined him for nearly a full year.
Kobe Paysour (Photo: Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina)
STAYING — OL AUSTIN BLASKE
Veteran offensive lineman Austin Blaske changed course on Wednesday (Dec. 11).
He said in a social media post that he's removing his name from the portal, after electing to enter the transfer market two days earlier. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Blaske has one season of college eligibility remaining. He has started at center in 11 games this season, missing only UNC's Sept. 14 rout of NC Central due to a high-ankle sprain.
Blaske has played 737 offensive snaps this season, per data from Pro Football Focus (PFF), the fourth-highest snap count on the Tar Heels' offensive line. He hasn't allowed a sack this season and has given up five pressures, marking the lowest pressure rate allowed among UNC's starting group. His PFF pass-blocking grade ranks second on the UNC offensive line, behind only right guard Willie Lampkin, the All-ACC first-teamer.
Before joining the Tar Heels as a transfer addition through the portal, Blaske played in 15 games across the previous three seasons at Georgia. He was a member of the Bulldogs' back-to-back College Football Playoff national championship teams for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — K NOAH BURNETTE
Noah Burnette, who developed into an All-ACC kicker across his five seasons in the Tar Heels' program, entered the transfer portal on Wednesday (Dec. 11). He ranks third in career points and fourth in career field goals made in UNC football history, though after earning All-ACC second-team honors in 2023, he suffered a drop-off this season.
Burnette went 4-for-4 during the second half in the opener at Minnesota this season, an effort underlined by his career-long 52-yarder and 45-yarder that put UNC ahead to stay with 1:44 remaining in the game. But he missed five field goal attempts during the last six games of this season, and yanked a point-after kick wide in the regular-season finale against NC State. He finished 15-for-21 on field goals this season. Georgia Tech blocked one of those kicks.
Burnette connected on 19-of-20 field goals during the 2023 season, highlighted by a clutch 6-for-6 performance as the Tar Heels defeated Duke in double overtime. Altogether, he hit 49-for-62 on field goal attempts and converted 137-of-139 extra-point tries across the last three seasons as UNC's primary kicker.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — OL HOWARD SAMPSON
Massive offensive tackle Howard Sampson entered the portal on Tuesday (Dec. 10),
Inside Carolina has confirmed. The 6-foot-8, 325-pounder became the sixth UNC offensive lineman and third starter among the group up front to test the transfer market, joining starting left guard Aidan Banfield and starting center Austin Blaske.
Sampson started at left tackle in all 12 games this season, after coming on board with the Tar Heels through the transfer portal from North Texas. He played 824 snaps, per data from Pro Football Focus (PFF), the second-highest total on the UNC offensive line behind All-ACC first-teamer Willie Lampkin (851 snaps at right guard). In pass-blocking situations, Sampson gave up 18 pressures (tied for second-most among the Tar Heels) and five quarterback hits (most on the team).
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — DL TRAVIS SHAW
Big defensive tackle Travis Shaw entered the transfer portal on Tuesday (Dec. 10),
Inside Carolina has confirmed through 247Sports. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound behemoth represents the second noteworthy UNC defender to join the college football free agent market, following promising linebacker Amare Campbell's portal entry a day earlier. Shaw has played in 36 college games across the last three seasons.
For so long, great expectations have followed Shaw. In August 2021, he became one of the highest-rated high school prospects ever to commit to the Tar Heels, second only during the internet recruiting era to Marvin Austin. Shaw weighed north of 370 points, and responded by shedding more than 40 pounds across the course of the last offseason. Then in the 2024 season opener at Minnesota, his hustling fumble recovery in the fourth quarter proved huge in helping UNC squeak out a narrow victory.
Last month, Shaw's game-wrecking potential showed up in Carolina's defeat of Wake Forest. His four tackles that night matched a career high, and included three solo stops and a career-best two tackles for losses, both on Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne. Shaw also was nimble enough to bat away a pass during the second half, and later, he had enough fuel left in the tank to pounce on a critical fumble recovery with 5:08 remaining in the game, when UNC teammate Joshua Harris Sr. crashed through and sacked Wake Forest quarterback Michael Kern.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — OL ANDREW ROSINSKI
UNC had a third reserve on the offensive line depart, when true freshman Andrew Rosinski entered the transfer portal on Sunday night (Dec. 8).
He said in a social media post that he's leaving the program with four years of college eligibility remaining. Rosinski (6-foot-5, 280 pounds) hasn't played in a game for the Tar Heels this season. He joined the program in January as an early enrollee out of Creekview High School in Georgia, where he became a two-time all-state selection and was rated as a four-star prospect. Rosinski ranked as the No. 17 offensive tackle recruit nationally by the 247Sports Composite.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — QB Conner Harrell
Conner Harrell leaves UNC with two years of eligibility remaining. He started in three games for North Carolina in his three years with the program. Harrell backed up Drake Maye at quarterback in the 2023 season, and after Maye opted out of the bowl game, Harrell was the starter for the bowl game loss to West Virginia. This past spring and training camp, after Maye left, Harrell competed for the starting quarterback job with transfer Max Johnson. Johnson ultimately won the job, but a femur injury in the season opener led to Harrell getting his first snaps of the year in that game, and then the start vs. Charlotte. Harrell completed 21 of his 37 passes this year for 282 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — RB CALEB HOOD
Once a starter for the Tar Heels, running back Caleb Hood's four seasons at Carolina (2021-24) have been derailed by recurring injury issues. He entered the transfer portal on Tuesday (Dec. 3), along with Jordan Louie, another reserve running back.
Hood said in a social media post that he has one season of college eligibility left. He played in four games this season, contributing seven carries and three receptions. Star runner Omarion Hampton, true freshman Davion Gause and the often-injured Darwin Barlow were ahead of Hood in UNC's backfield lineup.
Hood ran for 43 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries during the 2023 season, while appearing in seven games. In 2022, he was the Tar Heels' starter at running back in ACC victories against Virginia Tech, Miami, Duke and Pittsburgh. He supplied 109 all-purpose yards (87 rushing, 22 receiving) in UNC's shootout win at Appalachian State. Four games later, he ran for 74 yards on 13 carries and added five catches for 50 yards, as Carolina won at Miami. Hood rushed for 250 yards in 2022, before missing the final six games of that season due to injury.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — OL ZACH GREENBERG
UNC lost more depth on the offensive line, with backup center Zach Greenberg (6-4, 300 pounds) entering the transfer portal on Tuesday (Dec. 3).
He said in a social media post that he's departing as a mid-year graduate transfer, and has one season of college eligibility remaining. He made the significant leap to the Division I level from the Division III ranks, after joining the Tar Heels in January through the transfer portal out of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.
Greenberg started at center in UNC's Sept. 14 victory against NC Central, plugging in for injured first-stringer Austin Blaske. He also played 60 snaps against Charlotte and made an appearance at Duke. Prior to transferring, Greenberg served as a three-year starter at left tackle on the offensive lines at Muhlenberg. He collected first-team all-conference honors twice there.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — RB Jordan Louie
Jordan Louie departs after two seasons at North Carolina. The 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back redshirted his first season and did not log a snap this season. Louie was ranked the No. 56 player in Georgia and the N0. 39 running back nationally by 247Sports in the Class of 2023 coming out of Norcross (Ga.) Meadowcreek. His one appearance last season was against Campbell.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)
OUT — OL ELI SUTTON
Reserve offensive lineman Eli Sutton (6-foot-7, 310 pounds) is leaving UNC with one season of eligibility remaining, he said Monday (Dec. 2)
in a social media post. He joined the Tar Heels in 2021 out of Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy as a four-star prospect, ranked at the time as the No. 24 offensive tackle recruit nationally. He has played in three games on special teams this season, after making an appearance in one game in 2023.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina