The Tar Heels haven’t found out which bowl game they will be heading to yet, but the offseason movement has begun already. On Thursday morning, the football team announced that two former starters, one on each side of the football, were entering the transfer portal.
As first reported by Inside Carolina and Tar Heel Illustrated this morning, both super senior wide receiver Beau Corrales and junior linebacker Eugene Asante are officially entering the transfer portal after seeing starter reps at times during their Carolina career. Both guys would late confirm their decisions via social media.
Corrales, who has not played at all this season while recovering from sports hernia surgery, departs the Tar Heel football program after appearing in 35 games and starting 18 in five seasons with the programs. He finishes his Tar Heel career with 80 receptions for 1176 yards and 12 touchdowns, headlined by his big junior season where he caught 40 passes for 575 yards and six touchdowns.
Asante lost his starting job at inside linebacker prior to the game against Virginia earlier this season and never gained it back, leading to this move. He finishes his Tar Heel career with 58 total tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss and one pass deflection in 37 games played, four of which he started.
Both of these moves do have an impact, but Corrales’ move is the more impactful when you combine it with the other moves that the team has seen in season at wide receiver. The Tar Heels have now lost three of the top five wide receivers this summer’s depth chart, leaving Josh Downs, Antoine Green and Justin Olsen as the only receivers that will carry significant experience into the offseason. The Tar Heels will now almost certainly have to go into the transfer portal to find that veteran experience and a red zone target at the receiver that this team is now lacking.
At linebacker, almost guarantees that one of the true freshmen from this season, Power Echols or RaRa Dillworth, will assume a starting role this upcoming season next to Cedric Gray. With Jeremiah Gemmel leaving, as well, the depth here is a bit thin, but the good news is that the Tar Heels are expected to bring in two inside linebackers in the 2022 early signing class in 4✮ Sebastian Cheeks and 3✮ Deuce Caldwell and another true freshman, Gabe Stephens, who missed this entire season due injury, may also be a part of the unit.
This likely won’t be the final time that we see a Tar Heel player enter the transfer portal this offseason, but the hope is that the team can start making some waves in the portal to pair with a tremendous recruiting class.
HEELS played a pretty good game but theirs always room for improvement. 🏀 💙 🏀