Ohio State Transfer Throws Subtle Shade at North Carolina

This Ohio State Buckeyes transfer addition has thrown a bit of shade at his former North Carolina Tar Heels squad.

Leesville Road 2022 three-star defensive end Beau Atkinson during Dabo Swinney Football Camp 2021 in Clemson, S.C. Thursday, June 10, 2021. | Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Ohio State Buckeyes scored a major coup in the transfer portal earlier this offseason, poaching defensive end Beau Atkinson from the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Atkinson will fill a massive need for Ohio State heading into 2025, as it lost its two top pass rushers — JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer — to the NFL Draft in April.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound star racked up 35 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks at North Carolina last season and still has two years of eligibility remaining to establish himself as one of the most dominant pass rushers in the country.

With Bill Belichick now at Chapel Hill, you would think Atkinson would have been perfectly fine playing out the rest of his collegiate days with the Tar Heels to build his NFL profile, but apparently, he did not think North Carolina offered what he needed from a competition standpoint.

“I think it was just time for me to go,” Atkinson told Eleven Warriors. “I think I just wanted to play at the highest level that I could.”

Obviously, Ohio State is a far more prestigious football school than North Carolina, but you just can't help but feel the subtle burn there for the Tar Heels.

“It's been awesome,” Atkinson added. “It's a whole 'nother level of football. Got a bunch of great guys and yeah, it's been great competition trying to become the best we can be.”

Clearly, Atkinson already notices the difference playing in Columbus. We'll see if he is also able to elevate his level of production now that he is in the fierce Big Ten.

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