Texas Longhorns Lose Transfer Target to Bill Belichick, North Carolina

The Texas Longhorns miss out on adding another defensive lineman via the transfer portal.

North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick during half time at Dean E. Smith Center. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

DISCLAIMER: At the time this story was written, Johnson had been confirmed to have signed with North Carolina but has since flipped to the Texas Longhorns.

After visiting the Texas Longhorns on Thursday, former Maryland Terrapins defensive lineman Lavon Johnson has signed with Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels, On3's Pete Nakos reports.

A sophomore from Allentown, Pa., Johnson had 19 total tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack over his two seasons with the Terrapins. His best game came against the Iowa Hawkeyes last season, when he had six solo tackles in a 29-13 road loss on Nov. 23.

Since entering the portal, Johnson has spoken with a wide range of Power Four programs, including Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Indiana, Rutgers and Utah. Texas was the only one of those programs that he visited, however.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In the end, Johnson decided to transfer to North Carolina and play for Belichick, the legendary former New England Patriots coach who decided to try his hand at the college game this offseason.

Already, Belichick is putting together a solid portal class. On3 has the Tar Heels at No. 14 in its transfer portal team rankings, and they ould keep rising up as the spring window continues. After all, a chance to play for a Hall of Fame coach can be hard to pass up.

Texas, meanwhile, is assembling a nice portal class as well. The Longhorns have already added three defensive linemen this offseason, including Hero Kanu (Ohio State), Travis Shaw (North Carolina) and Cole Brevard (Purdue).

Head coach Steve Sarkisian previously named the defensive line as an area of need, so it makes sense that the Longhorns would address it in the portal.

“Naturally, there are a couple of positions depth-wise where we’re not where we need to be right now,” Sarkisian said in March. “We’ll look at the portal that way. Our numbers are down at receiver right now from a scholarship standpoint. Our numbers are down on the defensive line from where our numbers really should be. And our number’s really down at tight end. It’s not a secret that we’ll look to the portal, but I don’t want to take a guy just for a number.”

The Longhorns will open the 2025 season when they face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30.