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Lost amid the news of Caleb Wilson’s hand injury and Henri Veesaar’s “lower extremity” issues, UNC football continues to subtract and add players to the roster. Head coach Bill Belichick and general manager Mike Lombardi in the last 14 months have now signed 132 new players to the 105 man roster, in addition to the players they inherited from Mack Brown.
Possible subtraction:
Recruiting can be hit-or-miss, and the misses can start early as signed players sometimes don’t make it to campus as expected. Last December, GM Mike Lombardi suggested that as many as 36 of UNC’s 39 new players could be early enrollees, meaning on campus for the spring semester. Early enrollees get a head start on preparations for the 2026 season, including participation in spring practices. These players increase their odds to be on the field in games come fall.
On3’s UNC site, Inside Carolina, reports that Keeyun Chapman and Da’Ron Parks did not enroll early and in fact may be lost for this year altogether:
Chapman, a tall, speedy wide receiver from Alabama, ranked as UNC’s best recruit this cycle, according to ESPN. Parks, another four star at offensive tackle, rated as UNC’s top offensive line recruit and drew significant attention late in the recruiting cycle when he flipped from Florida State. Losing two of 39 players so soon isn’t abnormal, but losing two of the class’s 12 four stars, and two of five on offense, stings. Hopefully these two promising players can find their way to Chapel Hill at some point.
Addition:
Perhaps coincidentally, UNC recently announced two new additions to the 105 man roster: OT Dujuan Davis and a QB transfer from WCU, Taron Dickens.
Dickens comes to UNC in his fourth year as a college QB. At WCU, Dickens put up video game numbers in nine games, throwing for 3,508 yards on 365 attempts and completing 74%of his passes for 38 touchdowns and two interceptions. Again, that’s over nine games, as Dickens did not play the first three games of the season, reportedly a suspension for an academic violation.
Fun Facts: Dickens holds the NCAA record for most consecutive completions in a single game: 46. That’s not a typo. Dickens completed 46 passes in a row against a game Mercer team that went 9-3 last season and made the FCS playoffs. Dickens was nominated for the Walter Payton Award, the FCS Heisman.
Dickens comes to UNC late in the academic calendar, so his enrollment must wait until summer. That unfortunately precludes participating in spring practices, which raises some questions. On the one hand, with last season’s proven production, it’s hard to imagine Dickens comes to UNC content to join a crowded QB room and sit behind Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards. On the other hand, if UNC and Dickens see him potentially starting for UNC next season, why did the commitment come too late to join spring practices? Gio Lopez also joined UNC too late last season to participate in spring practices, and his struggles have been well chronicled.
Another question would be why Dickens was still available in mid-February after entering the portal on January 2nd. While he would be relatively small for a P4 QB (5’11”, 185 pounds), Dickens’ production would seem to warrant more immediate interest from FBS schools in the G6 ranks at least. The situation seems curious.
The final question would be why the staff saw a need to add him at all. UNC already landed two new QBs via the transfer portal, Billy Edwards from Wisconsin and Miles O’Neill from Texas AM. The recruiting class added a high four-star, Travis Burgess, for the future. Au’Tori Newkirk drew a lot of praise from the staff last season and earned late game snaps over UNC’s highest-rated 2025 recruit, Bryce Baker. Time will tell how how Dickens adds to the mix in the QB room — and what dynamics there necessitated adding a fifth QB under these circumstances.
Dickens’ highlights from 2025:
As for Dujuan Davis, ESPN rates him a three star with a grade of 74, well behind Parks at 80. Davis reportedly held P4 offers from Rutgers and Ole Miss. He’ll likely spend 2026 on the scout team as he tries to develop into a starter a couple of years down the road.
What’s your opinion of Dickens? Next season’s Trinidad Chambliss or Gio Lopez? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
If you’ve missed other off-season updates on the football team and would like to catch up, you can find those links here:
Early Signing Day: Offense and Special Teams
Early Signing Day: Defense
Bobby Petrino, New Offensive Coordinator
Transfer Portal Update #1
Transfer Portal Update #2
Transfer Portal Update #3
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