Heading into Friday, the Tar Heels felt like they had their roster set for the Wasabi Fenway Bowl that will take place in Boston on Saturday, but that wasn’t the case. Just a short time before the coach and select players were scheduled with the media, the team learned that one of their most important offensive pieces will not be available for Saturday’s game.
According to multiple reports, senior right guard Willie Lampkin will not be available to play against Connecticut after he opted out on Friday afternoon just prior to when he was supposed to be a part of the team’s media session. J.J. Jones, the team’s graduate starting wide receiver, was the player that the team selected at the last minute to replace him as they spoke with the collective media in the hotel where both teams are staying.
Per the initial report from Inside Carolina, Lampkin had been on and off the practice field in the last month while dealing with an undisclosed injury, but the expectation from those around the program was that he would be able to play on Saturday.
Instead, the team must scramble to plug the hole that is left behind by the first team All-American and Jacob’s Blocking Trophy winner just hours before the game. On the official depth chart that the team released earlier this week, true freshman Aidan Banfield, the team’s starter at left guard, was listed as the team’s backup meaning that one of two things could happen. With junior Malik McGowan, the backup at left guard, available for this game despite entering the transfer portal earlier this week, the staff could choose to utilize him as the starter there and move Banfield over to that right guard spot. The other option would be to keep Banfield at left guard and let sophomore Zach Rice, the current third-stringer at right guard, get his first career start for the program. Regardless, this is far from an ideal scenario for a team that has spent the lost month preparing as if Lampkin would be in there.
Along with Lampkin, the team is having to navigate the absences of starting running back and fellow first team All-American Omarion Hampton (opt out) and starting left tackle Howard Sampson (transfer portal) on the offensive side. On the opposite side of the ball, the team will not have the services of starting defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie (opt out), starting edge rusher Kaimon Rucker (injury), starting linebacker Power Echols (opt out) and starting safety Stick Lane (opt out).
Lampkin, a senior offensive guard who was in his second year with the program following a transfer from Coastal Carolina, ranked as the top offensive guard in the country according to Pro Football Focus. He earned an 81.8 run block grade, an 87.7 pass block grade and an 81.2 overall overall grade in 851 snaps across twelve regular season games. In 473 pass block reps, Lampkin failed to allow a sack and allowed just eight quarterback pressures. He also took just six penalties this season.