For the second time in this portal cycle, the Tar Heels have dipped in to pick up a member of the expected defensive coordinator, Stephen Belichick’s, defense from this past season.
According to On3 Sports and Inside Carolina, Washington transfer Peyton Waters has signed with the Tar Heels after entering the transfer portal last Monday. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.
In his lone season in Seattle, Waters played in all thirteen of the team’s games between defense and special teams. He played just ten snaps on defense between the Northwestern, Penn State and Oregon games, but he was a key part of the team’s special teams unit where he played 126 snaps. He finished the season with five total tackles, all but one of which came on special teams.Â
Coming out of high school last year, Waters was the No. 231 overall prospect and No. 20 safety according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings following an extremely successful high school career at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, CA. In his three seasons as a varsity players, he collected 147 total tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 16 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries while catching 158 passes for 2,671 yards and 35 touchdowns on offense.
While he isn’t exactly the most proven option, this is one of the better pick ups that the Tar Heels have made in this portal window. This is another player that has a ton of upside and will have the chance to make a major impact right away in the rebuilding secondary.