Bill Belichick highlights impact of transfer portal on UNC's 2025 football roster
If you don't recognize many players on this year's UNC football roster, that's because of several 2024 departures and 2025 transfer portal additions.
North Carolina will enter its highly-anticipated season with new starters across the board. The Tar Heels will have a new starting quarterback for the third-consecutive fall, a young wide receiver room and entirely new defensive line, which replaces every 2024 starter.
On Saturday morning at UNC's first day of Training Camp, head coach Bill Belichick spoke extensively about his new team's roster overhaul, highlighting how he looked to fill positions through the spring portal.
"We have a lot of new players, a little over 40 from the spring and 70 guys that weren't on last year's team," Belichick said. "The first portal, we're just trying to find guys to fill the team. Second portal, we're looking for good football players. We felt like any position, if the player wanted to come in and compete – and we thought it was a good player – then this is the right spot for him. We'll give everybody an opportunity to compete. We're going to have to earn our spots on the field.'
One of North Carolina's latest portal additions is Boise State linebacker Andrew Simpson, who played a major role in helping the Broncos make their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season. Simpson started 11 games – and should slot in as a Day One starter for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina didn't know if Max Johnson, its 2024 initial starting quarterback, would be ready by the start of training camp. The Tar Heels nabbed South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez, who thrived in 2024 as a first-time starting QB, in the transfer portal.
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