New faces, fast help: Five transfers key to UNC reboot

North Carolina didn’t hire Bill Belichick to ease quietly into a rebuild after a 4–8 season. The Hall of Fame coach arrived in Chapel Hill with an NFL résumé and an urgent mandate: fix a program that has drifted and restore an edge on both sides of the ball.

To jump-start that process, Belichick and his staff attacked the transfer portal with a clear purpose. Instead of chasing flash, they targeted proven production and positional versatility, loading up on veterans who have already handled Power Four workloads and can stabilize key spots immediately in 2026.

The biggest changes will come on offense, where Belichick turned the keys to veteran coordinator Bobby Petrino and rebuilt the skill spots through the portal. On defense, the scheme remains similar, but the Tar Heels had to dig deep for help at linebacker and add depth pieces across the front.

Here are five players from the transfer portal who could help UNC immediately.

QB Billy Edwards

Edwards began his career at Wake Forest before spending three seasons at Maryland and one at Wisconsin. He won the Badgers’ starting job but injured his knee in the opener and appeared in only one more game, briefly starting against his former team, Maryland, before aggravating the injury. 

At Maryland, he started 11 games in 2024, throwing for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions. With his Power Four experience and the trust offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has in him, Edwards is positioned for a strong season in Chapel Hill.

WR Trech Kekahuna

Kekahuna brings both experience and versatility to the Tar Heels. He caught 26 passes for 211 yards last season, added 14 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown, and totaled 142 yards on kick returns. For his career, he has 55 receptions for 614 yards and two touchdowns. 

Unlike many portal receivers, Kekahuna already has chemistry with quarterback Billy Edwards after playing with him at Wisconsin.

TE Jelani Thurman

Thurman spent three seasons with Ohio State, catching 13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He committed to North Carolina as a top 120 recruit in the nation.

Thurman played in a pretty loaded offense at Ohio State, so the opportunities were tough to come by. But now, he has the chance to come in and make an impact at North Carolina.

TE Jordan Washington

Washington, a 6-foot-4, 264-pound tight end who transferred from Texas, brings three years of eligibility and steady Power Five production after appearing in all 12 games last season with two starts and finishing with seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. 

Washington should get many reps as well, considering Petrino wants tight ends to be a major part of his offense and Washington has plenty of Division I experience.

LB Peyton Seelman

Seelmann is coming off a breakout season as one of the FCS’s most productive linebackers. He led his team with 120 tackles, including 52 solo stops, a total that ranked second in the Patriot League and eighth nationally. He added 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on a defense that allowed just 290.3 yards per game and finished second in the league in scoring defense. 

North Carolina and Belichick already know his game well: in a 41–6 Tar Heels win on Sept. 13, 2025, Seelmann still stood out with nine tackles and a quarterback hurry.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: New faces, fast help: Five transfers key to UNC reboot