As offseason training sessions ramp up, Bill Belichick received North Carolina's first commitment from the spring college football transfer portal. Although he has yet to make his college football debut, true freshman wideout Adrian Wilson confirmed his commitment to the Tar Heels from the portal on Thursday morning to On3 Sports.
However, the term commitment can be used lightly with Wilson. Even before beginning his college football career, North Carolina is already the fourth school the four-star prospect has committed to. Before the Tar Heels, Wilson was committed to Arizona State, TCU, Oregon and Colorado.
Wilson was most recently with the Buffaloes, where he enrolled in December 2024. That lasted less than one semester before he entered the college football transfer portal on Wednesday, one day before committing to North Carolina.
Wilson's commitment helps offset the losses North Carolina will face in the spring college football transfer portal. Belichick is set to lose the team's 2024 sacks leader, Beau Atkinson, and quarterback Ryan Browne. Both confirmed they would enter the portal when it opened on Wednesday. Browne's transfer suggests Max Johnson will be the team's starter by Week 1.
Adrian Wilson joins North Carolina's college football transfer portal class
Article Continues Below
Despite the losses, North Carolina already has an intriguing incoming transfer portal class. The Tar Heels' incoming group is headlined by Mikai Gbayor, Daniel King, Thaddeus Dixon, Jason Robinson Jr. and Pryce Yates.
Though the team is coming off another disappointing 6-7 season in 2024, the hype surrounding the North Carolina football program is already sky high. Belichick's insertion into the program as a multi-time Super Bowl-winning head coach gives the Tar Heels a unique hope unlike anything college football has ever seen.
The start of the Bill Belichick era comes after an up-and-down nine-year run from legendary head coach Mack Brown. Though Brown's return to the school in 2019 was welcomed at the time, his final year with the team ended poorly. While Belichick came out of retirement to accept the job, the 73-year-old Brown is widely expected to enter retirement after his firing.