The North Carolina Tar Heels could run into some problems at one major position next season.
The North Carolina Tar Heels went just 4-8 in Bill Belichick's debut campaign as head coach, which is certainly not what anyone anticipated.
But what's not surprising is that North Carolina just saw a mass exodus in the transfer portal, as 15 players have decided to depart Chapel Hill thus far.
The worst part? There were five wide receivers among that group, leaving the Tar Heels pretty barren beyond Jordan Shipp at the position.
Now, it should be noted that UNC landed four-star receiver Keeyun Chapman and four other wide outs on early national signing day, but how much can we really expect from five freshmen?
North Carolina will have to answer back in the transfer portal itself this offseason if it wants to put some proven options behind Shipp, because right now, the cupboard is very bare.
Yes, Shipp himself could be a breakout player next season. He caught 60 passes for 671 yards and six touchdowns this year and was one of the lone bright spots on the Tar Heels' offense. He also appears to be a legitimate NFL talent.
But the Tar Heels need more, especially with so much uncertainty under center. We don't even know if Gio Lopez — who actually played some pretty solid football down the stretch — will be ready for 2026 after suffering a gruesome leg injury in UNC's season finale.
Of course, the wide receiver room is one of many areas that Belichick will have to address in the coming months. North Carolina was not a good football team in 2025. That much we know. But this one need seems particularly glaring.
The good news is that Belichick did sign 39 players earlier this week, and many of them are pretty impressive recruits. The Tar Heels even managed to flip some commits from big schools, so progress has already been made.
I said all along that we need to give Belichick a bit of a grace period considering he just accepted the job last December and didn't really have much of a chance to put a proper roster together. Now, though, Belichick is getting that chance, so the clock has started.
We'll see if Belichick is able to rectify the receiving corps this offseason. And who knows? Maybe some surprises will be in store for next fall.