UNC Linebackers Face Unknown After Spring Ball

The transfer portal brutalized North Carolina's linebacker corps. Now, the incoming transfers face an unknown heading into the 2026 season.

Sep 9, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange linebacker Derek McDonald (15) against the Western Michigan Broncos during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

In college football, it is a brutal time to live in the NIL and transfer portal era. Maintaining success or year-over-year consistency matters more than ever, as programs will lose many players to the portal as they look for new opportunities. This sometimes creates a talent vacuum, or a lack of talent, especially at one or more positions.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been a key example for transfer portal turnover as the program saw around 70 new players on its roster in 2025 and roughly 50 this offseason. So much turnover can create chemistry and cultural inconsistencies. For the Tar Heels, it is their linebacker corps that has suffered the most this offseason, with many new players across the position, leading to many unknowns.

UNC Linebackers Become One of the Most Intriguing Areas on the Roster for 2026

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a press conference ahead of the Tar Heels' first spring practice on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gone are Andrew Simpson (graduation) and Khmori House (portal), as the top four players at the position left the program for various reasons this offseason. Head coach Bill Belichick has had to start from scratch with this group; it hasn't been easy.

North Carolina has the talent along the defensive front to make up for losses in the middle of the defense and at the quarterback position of the unit. A good defensive line and pass rush can make up for average to below-average talent at the second level, and sometimes it proves to be valuable. However, there is a reason football is called a team sport, and if you have no continuity at one position, the rest of the unit could fall apart.

Steve Belichick, Defensive Coordinator for the Washington football team, answers questions from the media during the coordinator news conference at the Hawthorn Suites in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. | GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That is why Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi attacked the transfer portal and the recruiting class with key linebacker additions that could raise the level of competition off the ball.

Tar Heels New Off-Ball Defenders Must Step Up This Upcoming Season

UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick during a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 inside the Kenan Football Center. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Syracuse's Derek McDonald and Richmond's Peyton Seelmann are both expected to be the starting linebackers for defensive playcaller Steve Belichick, with established players Timir Hickman-Collins and Jonathan Agumadu likely to back them up. The older Belichick and Lombardi also added D.Q. Forkpa and Calvin Thomas, who could find their way on the field or work to become the future starters in 2027.

That is a lot of new talent with a mix of experience, a lack of such, and the lack of chemistry to build as a cohesive unit right away. There is a chance that this group remains a weakness in 2026 as the offense looks to take a massive step forward under offensive coordinator Rick Petrino. However, if portal additions hit and the group swells, it could allow the Tar Heels to have a much better season than anticipated.