North Carolina spent the offseason trying to rebuild a roster that can handle a much tougher ACC, and one of the more interesting additions came out of Wisconsin. The Tar Heels brought in quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and also added one of his familiar targets, slot receiver Kekahuna, who checks in at No. 25 on the program’s 2026 top 30 players list.
Kekahuna arrives in Chapel Hill after two seasons with the Badgers, where the 5-foot-10, 185-pound wideout posted 51 catches for 550 yards and two touchdowns in 24 games. That production doesn’t jump off the page, but the situation in Madison matters. Wisconsin leaned heavily on the run, and the quarterback play around him wasn’t exactly ideal either.
Even so, there’s a clear role waiting for him if North Carolina’s offense comes together the way the staff hopes. Kekahuna fits as a slot option who can work the middle of the field, move the chains and help the Tar Heels on third down. He won’t be the guy who piles up touchdowns - that job figures to fall more to Jordan Shipp and Mason Humphrey, with Jaxxon Warren also expected to be a red-zone factor - but he should be a steady presence in the passing game.
His best game last season came against Maryland, when he caught five passes for 77 yards. That kind of outing points to what he can be in the right system: not a centerpiece, but a reliable outlet who can keep drives alive. With Edwards Jr. in the mix, the connection is already there, and that familiarity could matter once training camp opens in just over a month.
There’s also a real possibility Travis Burgess wins the quarterback job, and if that happens, having a dependable slot receiver becomes even more valuable. A true freshman quarterback can lean on simple throws over the middle, and Kekahuna could become exactly that kind of safety valve.
North Carolina didn’t bring him in as a project. Michael Lombardi and the front office clearly see him as part of the offensive reset, and the expectation is that he’ll be a steady target no matter who starts in Week 1 of the 2026-27 college football season.
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