When Bill Belichick accepted the North Carolina job on Dec. 11, the winter transfer portal was already open and the early signing period had taken place the prior week. Not exactly ideal timing.
UNC has shown serious interest in improving its trenches and is expected to be active in that market during the upcoming spring transfer portal window, which opens on Wednesday. The bigger question is whether it will spend the hefty price tags that accompany starting-caliber offensive and defensive linemen available.
With viable offensive linemen commanding upwards of $500,000 to start — and that number easily reaches into seven figures now for top players given the demand far outstrips the supply — UNC hasn’t shown a willingness to go there, according to those familiar with their negotiating approach. For some of the most desired players, UNC has offered considerably less than other programs in the mix.
Perhaps that’s spending discipline or hoping for a Bill Belichick discount the way his friend Nick Saban got in Tuscaloosa, but it’s clear the UNC brain trust of Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi isn’t interested in splashing around money the way, say, Texas Tech has in putting together the No. 1 transfer portal class, according to 247Sports. They are also very attuned to how money can impact a locker room and don’t want to disrupt that by wildly unequal pay disparities within position groups.
Inheriting a program that went 6-7 in 2024, Belichick had to put together a staff for his first go at running a college football program and assess the talent remaining on the roster during the winter window, while other programs quickly worked to gobble up the top talent available in college football’s version of free agency….
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/is-unc-committed-to-spending-on-transfers-tar-heels-lowballing-targets-during-critical-spring-portal-window/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2025-04-15 20:31:00
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