What We Learned from North Carolina’s Portal Departures

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be losing a handful of players in the transfer portal this offseason. On Friday, three more players added their names to the portal, increasing the number of departures to 15.

Those names include Aziah Johnson, Trevyon Green, Paul Billups, Yasir Smith, William Boone, Chris Culliver, Jason Robinson, Khmori House, Ty White, Jani Norwood, Javarius Green, Khalil Conley, Miles McVay, Max Johnson, and Davion Gause. McVay, Johnson and Gause were the three players who announced their decision on Friday.

Nov 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back Davion Gause (37) rushes the ball against Duke during the second half at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

The transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2, but it feels like the Tar Heels are already short-handed at this point in the offseason. The good news is that North Carolina had an incredibly productive recruiting period, signing 39 commits, including 10 four-star recruits and 29 three-star recruits. That should counter-balance the losses in the transfer window, but now there is even more pressure on the Tar Heels' front office to bring in players during that timeframe.

Here are a couple of takeaways from the latest news in Chapel Hill.

Wide Receiver Took the Biggest Hit

Nov 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Jordan Shipp (1) celebrates after a touchdown during the second half at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

Of all of the positions that have been depleted the most by players leaving in the transfer portal, receiver was the one that dominated the list. In total, North Carolina is set to lose five wideouts during this process.

However, the Tar Heels prioritized wide receiver in the recruiting process, landing five wideouts, including No. 10 receiver Keeyun Chapman. The front office did a fantastic job of refurbishing the receiver room in the 2026 class. The combination of veteran players leaving and young players coming in as replacements will create an inexperienced receiving corps, except for Jordan Shipp.

North Carolina's Front Office has Work to do

Sep 13, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Richmond Spiders head coach Russ Huesman talks to North Carolina Tar Heels general manger Michael Lombardi and head coach Bill Belichick before the game at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

With over a dozen players already in the transfer portal, the Tar Heels' front office has its work cut out for them.

While speaking with the media on National Signing Day during his press conference availability, general manager Michael Lombardi discussed what the offseason process will be.

"So, we’re going to make decisions with what we think is the best interest of our program moving forward, based on the total realm of what we think is needed for our team," Lombardi said. "And we don’t really know what is going to happen tomorrow, because the portal doesn’t open up until January.”

That was on Wednesday. Since then multiple players have announced their desire to leave the program ahead of next season. Lombardi did a great job in the recruitment pool, but if North Carolina wants to take advantage of its win-now window, persuading veteran players to join the Tar Heels is paramount for their success in 2026.

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