UNC Football: Transfer Portal U-Turns

After UNC limped to a 9-5 record on the back of a four-game, season-ending losing streak, most fingers pointed at the defense as the cause of the slide. The secondary was one of the main contributors to an ineffective unit that couldn’t get off the field on third & long, and gave up too many points for Drake Maye and the offense to overcome.

Three starters departed via the transfer portal: Tony Grimes went to Texas A&M, Cam Kelly went to Virginia, and Storm Duck went to Penn State. Additionally, cornerbacks coach and Carolina legend Dre Bly left the team and was eventually hired by the Detroit Lions.

Leaving UNC for greener pastures may have seemed like a prudent move at the time, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Now that UVA and Penn State have finished their Spring Games, Cam Kelly and Storm Duck are back in the transfer portal:

It’s a curious state of affairs in the modern college football game, being able to move around so quickly. Forget the glacial pace of player movement back when players had to sit out a year to transfer and couldn’t move intra-conference, to the more moderate pace of graduate transfers having instant eligibility, we’re now watching player movement at 5G internet speed.

Where will these players go? In the current environment, they could go just about anywhere, but it probably won’t be to more prestigious schools. Carolina is a solid second-tier program, below the level of Penn State and above Virginia, so expect Storm Duck to come back to a school at our level. Kelly? Maybe Old Dominion or something like that? Tony Grimes would appear to be the winner out of UNC’s secondary departures, but he’ll have to play his home games in front of 100,000 weirdos.

Giving players the same freedom to move between schools as coaches who break contracts to take new jobs is a good thing. But are we reaching a point of ridiculousness if they can transfer twice in a single offseason? Let us know what you think in the comments.