UNC’s Kobe Paysour Travels Long Road for Breakout Performance

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After delivering a career-high 101 receiving yards on six catches at California, receiver Kobe Paysour was a guest Monday night along with general manager Michael Lombardi on the Carolina Football Live radio show.

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One of only 26 holdovers from former coach Mack Brown’s era, Paysour has battled back from foot injuries that have sidelined him multiple times across the last two seasons. He adds a veteran presence to UNC’s wideout room, and perhaps showed against the Golden Bears how he can be counted on to produce during the rest of the season.

“Having my coaches trust in me, my teammates trust me, having the O-line be there and protect for the quarterback to give me the ball, that was just a great opportunity for me to be there and have success,” Paysour said on the radio show about his performance last week. He entered the night with totals of just two catches for 18 yards on the season.

Now a fifth-year senior, Paysour was on pace for a breakout campaign in 2023, with 282 yards and three touchdowns through the Tar Heels’ first five games. That included an ESPN SportCenter No. 1 play by way of a tip-drill catch over the middle against Syracuse, which Paysour cribbed for a 77-yard touchdown.

However, the week following the Syracuse game, Paysour suffered a broken left foot in practice, sidelining him for the remainder of the regular season. Then came another foot injury — this time a broken bone in his right foot in December — required surgery and caused Paysour to miss time in the spring. In 2024, he didn’t fully regain his form in terms of production from the season prior.

Now, Paysour has rediscovered flashes of his old self with the six-catch effort at Cal, including UNC’s longest reception of the night for 37 yards on a gadget play. It has been a particularly long road back from injury, but he has drawn inspiration from friends and family members who rallied behind him, while leaning on the enduring legacy of former teammate Tylee Craft to keep swinging.

“I had my family, my teammates, there to support me,” Paysour said Monday night. “Tylee is a reason why I wake up every morning, and (team chaplain) Mitch (Mason), they’re my reason why I go so hard every day in practice.”

As one of the most experienced players on UNC’s roster, Paysour said he naturally has assumed a leadership role for the Tar Heels. The native of Kings Mountain, N.C., isn’t overly outspoken, and chooses instead to lead by example for younger teammates.

But in situations such as Friday night’s crushing ending at Cal, when receiver Nathan Leacock coughed up a fumble on the goal-line that became the deciding blow in UNC’s 21-18 loss — rather than the go-ahead touchdown with 3:48 left in the game — Paysour took it upon himself to lift Leacock’s spirits.

“I talked to him after the game, gave him words of encouragement, just trying to be a big brother to him and trying to show him love,” Paysour said. “When people want to hear me speak, I speak to them. Or if people want words of encouragement, I talk to them. But usually I’ll lead by example.”

Now in his fifth-year at UNC, Paysour has played alongside six different starting quarterbacks for the Tar Heels. It’s a group that consists of Sam Howell, Drake Maye, Max Johnson, Conner Harrell, Jacolby Criswell and Gio Lopez.

Paysour mentioned on the radio show how he was able to build quick chemistry with the transfer Lopez, despite his late arrival through the portal after spring practices had concluded.

“We had that little bit of time before fall camp to gel a little bit, get to know each other, get to know each other’s background,” Paysour said. “So it was kind of a fast start, but it wasn’t difficult because he’s a great dude.”