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Coach Bill Belichick said Friday that UNC is open to rostering a player from an NFL team after a federal judge in Louisiana granted a temporary restraining order to allow several players, including a few from professional rosters, to enter the transfer portal.
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Belichick said the Tar Heels were “looking” at the decision, but with classes underway, they would have to clear more hurdles to sign such a talent. NIL or revenue-sharing money could also be hard to secure just over a week before the season opener against TCU in Ireland on Aug. 29.
“We’ve looked at a number of (cases), and each case is a little bit different,” Belichick said. “If it works, it works … We’re always open to anything that will help the team.”
The Louisiana order, issued Friday, gives players a week to enter the transfer portal, and several have already taken advantage. Eight players joined the list of possible college returners by Thursday afternoon, according to ESPN, including two from Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff semifinal team and several from NFL rosters.
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Former Rebels tight end Dae’Quan Wright, for example, played in a preseason game for the Cleveland Browns, and appears to be plotting a college return.
UNC also received an unfavorable ruling Friday when the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed an injunction from a Colorado judge that allowed class of 2022 players to receive a fifth year of eligibility. The decision came after the NCAA moved to institute a five-year eligibility clock without granting those class of 2022 talents the extra season.
That means kicker Rece Verhoff, who went 19-for-23 on field goals last season, is no longer available to play for UNC, at least for the time being, because he wasn’t part of a state-specific case to gain eligibility.
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“We’ll see how the whole thing with Rece plays out,” Belichick said.
This story was originally published August 21, 2026 at 12:20 PM.