Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Lose Another Linebacker to the Portal

Grant Halverson- Getty Images

The Tar Heels portal defections have created some major holes for this 2025 roster and over the last two days, a new one has emerged.

As first reported by Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, the Tar Heels have lost junior linebacker Michael Short to the transfer portal following yesterday’s departure from Amare Campbell. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining wherever he eventually lands.

Short spent the last two years in Chapel Hill, playing in all 26 games between defense and special teams. In his freshman season, he played just four defensive snaps and 65 special teams snaps, finishing with zero stats. This past year, though, he showed some nice potential, playing 101 defensive snaps and 248 special teams snaps, recording 23 total tackles, 17 of which were solos, 1.0 tackle for loss and two quarterback pressures. His career best performance came early last season in the game against Duke where he had five total tackles. He also finished the regular season with back four tackle games and played the most snaps of his career and put together a very solid performance in the bowl game against Connecticut.

Short's defection means another promising piece of the room is gone and the depth is simply non-existent. When you put his departure alongside Campbell, Cade Law and Crews Law, the Tar Heels are left with just two scholarship off-ball linebackers at the position that were with the team in the spring (Khmori House and Evan Bennett). The team does have Missouri transfer Mikai Gbayor coming in that does have starting experience which is helpful, but it feels like they still need to bring in a starting caliber player at the position and another body that has at least some playing experience to feel confident in this group. In other words, this is another defensive position where is still a lot of work to do.

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