UNC Football: Khadry Jackson has entered the Transfer Portal

If you listened to Mack Brown at all in the last week, you heard an honest assessment that there were going to be players that would want to look at their options and opt to take on the one-time no-penalty transfer the NCAA granted. Conversations were supposed to happen this week, but for one player it appears he already knows what he needs to do.

Khadry Jackson is headed into the football transfer portal, as Inside Carolina reported on Monday. 2021 will represent Jackson’s third football season, an important distinction to make for anyone as all players have a “free” year, so despite being a rising junior, Jackson will have at least three more years of eligibility left for a school that decides to add him to their team.

Jackson played a snap in all 25 games of his collegiate career, logging 67 snaps in 2020 at linebacker. It was clear after the spring was done that he was still going to be considered a backup and not a starter, and after two years and a massive recruiting haul on the defensive line, Jackson likely figures that if he isn’t starting now then he won’t be the rest of his time at UNC.

As noted, Jackson will not be the last to explore his options. Mack Brown has been vocal in his opinion of how the NCAA has poorly handled the entire situation of an extra year of eligibility along with the ease of transferring. The concern Brown has is that with all of the players looking to move around and the lack of guidance on how to handle scholarships, there’s a decent chance that there will be several players left without a place once the music ends.

As a two-year player, even in a reserve role, Jackson will likely be able to find a spot where he can start. The question remains if everyone who follows will be able to.