The Tar Heels are set to replace a significant amount of production this offseason at wide receiver after the news that was revealed on Friday during the Tar Heels meeting with the media.
Graduate senior wide receiver J.J. Jones submitted an appeal for an extra year of eligibility following the regular season finale against NC State. He revealed today during the Fenway Bowl press conference to Tar Heel Illustrated’s Andrew Jones that the appeal has been denied. He told him that will attempt to appeal one more time, but that he will go into tomorrow’s bowl game assuming it will be the final time that he will wear a Tar Heel uniform.
His appeal case is built around being forced into action in the Notre Dame game during his true freshman season and that he played limited reps in some other games early in his career. He is also citing some time that he missed with injuries throughout his career.
Jones has been a major part of the Tar Heels wide receiving corps each of the last three seasons after a quiet first season back in 2021. As a sophomore the next year, Jones caught 24 of his 51 targets for 434 yards and two touchdowns, establishing a bigger role as the season went on alongside Josh Downs and Antoine Green. Following the graduation of Downs and Green, Jones took over as the top receiving target for the team in 2023, catching 46 of his 64 targets for 711 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that up this year by leading the team in every major receiving category, catching 34 of his 62 targets for 570 yards and six touchdowns.
Getting Jones back would be a nice boost for a receiver room that may have to rely on Kobe Paysour as the lone veteran if Bryson Nesbit ultimately decides to go pro. That seems unlikely, though, meaning the team will have to continue to look for help in portal or bank on the upside of some of the best current underclassmen on the roster.