Roster Management, Evaluation Key For UNC With Hefty Signing Class

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Days away from the one-year anniversary of Bill Belichick’s hire, North Carolina compiled a hefty signing class that he and general manager Michael Lombardi hope the program can build with from an in-house level.

North Carolina’s 39-player 2026 class consists of nine defensive backs, seven offensive linemen, six defensive linemen, five linebackers, five wide receivers, two tight ends, one quarterback, one running back, one kicker, one punter and one player listed as “athlete.” Belichick and Lombardi, though they added and retained players when coming to UNC last December, consider this their “first recruiting class” at North Carolina.

“It’s a big class, and we’re excited about the players that have signed here and committed here,” Belichick said on Wednesday. “They will be a foundation for our program. They represent the values that we stand for. At least, that’s the way we feel at this time. That’s why we recruited those players. And it really transcends the entire football team.”

Last season, North Carolina added 38 transfers and 31 true freshmen with two portal windows. The only portal window this offseason doesn’t open for another month (Jan. 2), and after it stays open for two weeks, the school-to-school movement will stop. Without knowing exactly who will leave and who will stay, the large class could impact UNC’s flexibility to bring in players from other schools.

Lombardi said he expects 36 of the 39 players in the signing class to be at practice in January.

UNC put last year’s team together a bit behind schedule, dealing with the shifting parts of assembling a new staff and managing the loss of players to the portal. Belichick and Co. got mixed results from the transfers and freshmen during North Carolina’s 4-8 season.

Melkart Abou Jaoude, who joined from Delaware, landed a spot on the All-ACC Second Team after leading in sacks. Khmori House led the team in tackles after spending one season in Washington. Thad Dixon missed five games due to injury, but established himself as UNC’s best cover corner when healthy. Players like Daniel King, Jakai Moore and Chad Lindberg consistently started on the offensive line when healthy.

Gio Lopez started at quarterback after coming in from South Alabama, and he struggled to find consistency, finishing with just 1,747 passing yards with a 65.1% completion rate and a 51.4 QBR.  

Looking at the freshmen, Demon June led the team with 464 rushing yards, and others like Shanard Clower, Madrid Tucker, Jaylen McGill and Xavier Lewis showed flashes at times.

UNC rostered 109 players last season, due to the grandfather clause that allowed the team to be over the limit of 105 players. The team will lose 22 players as graduates, and an expected seven more so far to the portal.

Depending on who UNC will be able to add — and how many, for that matter — the Tar Heels will need the 2026 freshmen to at least be viable depth pieces by the time the season kicks off.

“The player controls whether they’re game-ready or not, and I think our job is to get them to that point,” Lombardi said. “But I think the reality is, if you’re here in January, which the bulk of this class will be here in January, then we’ll have a lot of time to develop their bodies, develop their minds, develop their football techniques to be ready to help us in some capacity. We saw Demon June’s ability to come in and play as a freshman. When we first got here, nobody really knew what he was capable of doing, but I think he came in and worked hard and did the thing. So Jaylen McGill came in and started to play. 

“And so there are examples of young players that have developed within the system. One of the things we have to do is spend time developing talent, and it’s based on the players’ dedication to their craft, dedication to their offseason, to see if they can find the playing time. We have no rule, and never had a rule, about who we play. The best players are going to play, regardless of where they come from.”

Lombardi said he feels the staff has a better idea of what to expect in the transfer portal this year when identifying team needs and the potential of players who may enter from other schools. 

When it comes to the makeup of next year’s roster, Lombardi said the program will make adjustments where needed to account for fit and need.

“We now have to answer two questions: you have a scholarship and you have a revenue share contract, and you have to negotiate the revenue share contract, and so value becomes important,” Lombardi said. “We’re in the process of evaluating every player on our team. We’re going to have meetings with every player on our team, and those meetings are going to end up with us deciding on what direction the player wants to go and what direction we want to go.”