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North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick is facing a tough loss to the transfer portal. The Tar Heels are experiencing a lot of roster turnover this offseason. Even with that in mind, bringing in Belichick gives this program higher-than-usual expectations in the ACC Conference. Unfortunately, one of the best players from last year's roster just put his name in the portal.
According to On3 National Recruiting / Transfer Portal Reporter Hayes Fawcett, Beau Atkinson will leave Chapel Hill. The Edge rusher picked up 54 tackles, 11 sacks, and one forced fumble over his two seasons with North Carolina football. He additionally earned ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors during the 2024 season.
The Tar Heels are in the midst of an exciting and uncertain era
While North Carolina has long been considered a basketball school, the football program has not been lackluster over the past decade. The Tar Heels may not be contending for National Championships, but they have made bowl games in six straight years. This program is used to be competitive, but the move to hire Belichick suggests that it wants more.
The twelve-team College Football Playoff has given many more schools hope of contending for a National Championship. The ACC Conference saw two teams make the field last season: Clemson and SMU. The Mustangs have long been a non-competitive program, and all of a sudden, they recorded their best season since the 1980s. These schools are becoming more hopeful, and with that hope comes significant increases in NIL spending for some of them. That is precisely the case with North Carolina football, which is significantly upping its financial commitment to the program.
Therefore, Bill Belichick will have the resources to attract the country's top recruits and transfers. And with that will come expectations. It may not happen in Year 1, but the athletic department will want to see gradual progress under Belichick as he becomes more accustomed to coaching at this level.
North Carolina football has a manageable schedule that opens up with a nonconference matchup against TCU. From there, the headline will be a home clash against Clemson five games into the season. There's a decent chance the Tar Heels head into that game undefeated. If that's the case, Chapel Hill will be buzzing with the kind of football fervor it hasn't seen since Mack Brown was in charge in the late 90s. The future might be a bit uncertain now, but there are plenty of reasons for North Carolian football fans to be very optimistic.
