Carolina Football: Heels lose Carl Tucker and Corey Bell to the transfer portal

Carl Tucker and Corey Bell Jr. have entered the mysterious NCAA Transfer Portal, and will finish their collegiate careers elsewhere.

As both played the 2019 season as fifth-year seniors, its evident that they were both granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA— Tucker dealt with numerous injuries during his Carolina career, including an ACL tear during the infamous injury pandemic of 2017. Bell also “earned” his hardship waiver that year.

Tucker, from Concord, N.C., redshirted in 2015, and showed flashes as a redshirt freshman, amassing 14.4 yards per catch and a touchdown in 2016. His injury in 2017 hit just as he was emerging as a top threat— he had 79 yards on three catches against Old Dominion before being lost to injury the following week against Duke.

He compiled 265 yards on 16 catches as a junior, but as a senior this year lost playing time to Jake Bargas and Garrett Walston as the year wore on.

Bell tore his labrum in 2017 and missed all but three games, then had Hernia surgery early in the season this year. He came to UNC in the same class as Tucker as a cornerback, and saw action in 22 games at the position.

A move to wide receiver under the new staff this spring was a surprising move given the lack of depth in the secondary, but one could argue he was the most surprising storyline to develop out of the 2019 spring game as a slot receiver.

Unfortunately, he was unable to crack the depth chart, due in no small part to the injury, for significant playing time behind Dazz Newsome and Rontavious Groves.

As it relates to Carolina’s scholarship numbers for next year, these moves have no effect as neither player was expected to return— unfortunately, we’ll likely see more attrition from some younger guys in the coming days.

Congratulations to two Tar Heels for completing their degrees in Chapel Hill, and we’ll be cheering for them as they pursue Masters’ degrees in 2020.