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Standout Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver transfers to North Carolina along with QB Billy Edwards

The Wisconsin Badgers lost their top quarterback and one of their top wide receivers to North Carolina and Bill Belichick in the transfer portal.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Trech Kekahuna (2) is transferring to North Carolina along with quarterback Billy Edwards (not pictured)
Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Trech Kekahuna (2) is transferring to North Carolina along with quarterback Billy Edwards (not pictured) | Ross Harried-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin BadgersNorth Carolina Tar Heels

The North Carolina offense under Bill Belichick next season could look a lot like what the Wisconsin Badgers offense was supposed to be in 2025.

Just one day after Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. announced his commitment to the Tar Heels in the transfer portal, one of his top Badgers wide receivers made the same decision.

Trech Kekahuna will be joining Edwards in Chapel Hill as the two look to form the connection that never took hold in Madison.

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Kekahuna finished third on the Badgers in receiving this season and fourth in rushing yards as offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes tried to find creative ways to get him more involved in the offense.

His 26 catches for 211 yards were a disappointment overall as he expected to take a much bigger step forward in his redshirt sophomore season.

His struggles were more a reflection of the offense as a whole than anything he did wrong, leading Kekahuna to enter the transfer portal this winter for the second time.

He had gone into the portal last winter as well, but Grimes convinced him to return to the program after he was hired as the new coordinator.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers transfer portal class ranks Top 5 in the country after opening weekend

That left Wisconsin fans some hope that Kekahuna could be brought back once again, but instead he decided to follow Edwards to North Carolina.

Luke Fickell already started pursuing replacement receivers in the portal as the Badgers saw four players at the position depart this winter.

On Sunday, Wisconsin signed former Oklahoma State wide receiver Shamar Rigby, and Fickell is expected to add even more pass catchers for new quarterback Colton Joseph.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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