You may have thought that the portal entries for the Tar Heels were done, but that is not the case.
As first reported by Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, Tar Heel defensive back DeAndre Boykins is entering the transfer portal. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Boykins spent the last four seasons in Chapel Hill, splitting his time between nickel corner and safety. He played in 37 games over the course of the four years, collecting 78 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, seven total quarterback pressures, one interception, six pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He saw his most action in his sophomore season back in 2022 when he started every game for the team at the STAR position (nickel corner), racking up 67 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, six total quarterback pressures, one interception, five pass breakups and one fumble recovery while allowing 58 of his 78 targets to be caught for 724 yards and two touchdowns. He was set to be the starter at that position again in 2023, but suffered a lower-body injury the week before the season opener against South Carolina that forced him to miss the season. This season, he made the move to safety with Kaleb Cost taking over in the STAR spot and played sparingly on defense in a similar fashion to what we saw in his true freshman season in 2021. He played just 103 snaps on defense, the majority of which came in the Fenway Bowl against Connecticut, tallying just six total tackles and one pass breakup while allowing three of his five targets to be caught for 106 yards and a touchdown.
His departure means that the team’s safety group will almost be completely overhauled this offseason. Will Hardy is the only member of the room who played significant snaps that will be back, but with the struggles of the room, that isn’t really a bad thing. The Tar Heels have already landed Minnesota transfer Coleman Bryson to come in and compete for the starting job and the staff is actively looking to add another player to the room to at least add depth. If they can land that extra body, they should be set for next year.