North Carolina DL Joel Starlings enters NCAA Transfer Portal

North Carolina redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Joel Starlings has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Starlings will have three seasons of college eligibility remaining. Starlings committed to UNC after just one visit in May 2022 but saw limited playing time over his first two seasons in Chapel Hill, appearing in just three games with one career tackle in 2024.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound Starlings played high school football at Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) High, where he was a four-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Starlings was rated as the 8th overall player out of Virginia, the 41st-ranked defensive lineman, and the 313th player overall in the 2023 class.

Starlings committed to UNC over offers from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. He was previously committed to Michigan when current USC defensive line coach Shaun Nua was still employed there before leaving for the Trojans in 2022.

Starlings is the 24th North Carolina player to hit the portal since the coaching change from Mack Brown to Bill Belichick, including eight since the spring portal window opened Wednesday. He joins pass rusher/EDGE Beau Atkinson, quarterback Ryan Browne, receiver Christian Hamilton, offensive tackle Zach Rice, and linebackers Malaki Hamrick and brothers Cade and Crews Law. Starlings entered on the same day North Carolina landed a commitment from former Colorado receiver Adrian Wilson.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Colorado WR Adrian Wilson commits to transfer to North Carolina

Former Colorado WR Adrian Wilson has committed to transfer to North Carolina on Thursday, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Wilson has been committed to TCU, Oregon, Arizona State, and Colorado over the past two years on the recruiting trail with several decommitments and flips. However, coming out of his first spring period, this will be his first to do so in the transfer portal as, after entering yesterday, Wilson has committed less than a day later to UNC.

Because of that, Wilson will never see any action for the Buffaloes. He’ll now, though, coming from Boulder to Chapel Hill, have four years of collegiate eligibility left.

Coming out of high school in the 2025 cycle, Wilson, a Pflugerville, Texas native, was the No. 308 player and a four-star prospect. He also rated in the Top-50 as a wide receiver and out of the state. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That made him their second highest-rated commitment in their class behind only QB JuJu Lewis (No. 56).

— One’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.