North Carolina had plenty of uneven moments in its win over TCU in Dublin, Ireland, but Jelani Thurman gave the Tar Heels something real to build on.
The former Ohio State tight end made the most of his first game in Carolina blue, catching four passes for 94 yards in his Tar Heel debut. Thurman was not expected to be in the starting role he found himself in on Saturday, but once the chance arrived, he delivered.
His impact went beyond the final line. North Carolina opened the game with a designed tight end screen that picked up 20 yards, a clear early sign of how offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino wanted to get him involved. That first snap helped settle things for Thurman and quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who was also making his North Carolina debut.
Edwards Jr. comes into the season with real pressure on him to lift the offense, and the pieces around him only raise the expectation. Jordan Shipp, Mason Humphrey, Trech Kekahuna, and the tight end group give him plenty to work with, and Thurman quickly showed why that room matters.
He looked like a dependable outlet for Edwards Jr. while also flashing the kind of burst that can turn a short catch into something bigger. Thurman averaged 23.5 yards per reception, a strong sign of how dangerous he can be when the ball finds him in space.
What makes the performance even more striking is that Thurman already topped his 2025 production. He had seven catches for 84 yards in the entire season, and he surpassed that yardage total in one afternoon. It was a sharp reminder of both the opportunity waiting for him in this offense and the role he could grow into from here.
Petrino had already pointed to North Carolina’s tight end depth during training camp, and Thurman’s debut backed that up. For a team looking for more consistency, his first outing was about as encouraging as it gets.
In Other News...
Carson Bertagnole Gives UNC An Early Chance To Make Noise In Knoxville
Carson Bertagnole has given North Carolina a promising opening at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, where the Tar Heels spent Friday hanging around the top of the board after a steady start in Tennessee. Bertagnole sits one stroke off the lead after rounds of 66 and 69, and his play helped UNC card a 3-under-par first day while staying within reach of the tournament front-runners.
The Tar Heels posted a 2-under 278 in the morning and followed with a 1-under 279 in the afternoon, leaving them five shots behind co-leaders Chattanooga and Memphis. With the field still early in the event, UNC has positioned itself for a weekend push, and Bertagnoles start gives the team a chance to make some noise if the scoring stays within reach. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Faces Early Pressure In A Major 5-Star Recruitment
The early buzz around Demarcus Henrys recruitment is already starting to take shape, and North Carolina is right in the thick of it. The 5-star small forward in the 2027 class is one of the marquee names on the board, and his first official visit is set for Louisville, the opening stop in what is expected to become a busy stretch of trips as his process develops.
For UNC, the challenge is simple enough to see and difficult enough to solve: Henry has a long list of heavy hitters around him, including Ohio State, Kentucky, BYU, UConn, Arkansas and Kansas. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey is also said to be making a major push in the recruitment, which adds another layer to a race that is only just beginning to heat up for the Tar Heels. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Found A Defensive Lineman Fans Never Saw Coming
Xavier Lewis was never the obvious name to watch when North Carolina started sorting through its defensive line options, but he has become one of the more intriguing success stories on the roster. A sophomore who was lightly recruited out of high school, Lewis had just one Power 4 offer from UNC and otherwise heard from smaller programs before initially signing with Austin Peay. He later took a preferred walk-on spot in Chapel Hill after Bill Belichick arrived as head coach, and the move has already started to pay off.
Lewis has since turned that opportunity into a scholarship and real defensive production, the kind of rise that speaks to both persistence and fit. His strong showing against TCU stood out as another reminder that UNC may have found a player who was easy to overlook at first but is becoming harder to ignore now. [Read more 🡒]