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Armando Bacot makes UNC pitch to Ohio State defensive back transfer Lejond Cavazos

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•04/24/22•

ChandlerVessels

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Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

In the quest to land Ohio State defensive back transfer Lejond Cavazos, North Carolina has one advantage over any other school: Armando Bacot. The Tar Heels hosted Cavazos on a visit this weekend in Chapel Hill, where he met up with the star center who helped lead the UNC basketball team to a national championship appearance this past season.

Armando Bacot posted a photo on Twitter of himself and Tar Heels football coach Mack Brown posing with Lejond Cavazos, the No. 29 cornerback according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. The big man then made his pitch with a simple caption.

“You know what to do brodie,” he wrote, tagging Cavazos in the tweet.

Coming out of high school, Cavazos was a four-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services. He ranked as the No. 362 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class and No. 55 within his home state of Florida after attending IMG Academy.

He redshirted his freshman season, notching his first college action in the Big Ten Championship against Northwestern. Cavazos played in 12 games during his time in Columbus, with 11 of them coming during the 2021 season. The defensive back was not able to gain a start but contributed eight tackles throughout the year. He also defended two passes, with one coming against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Michigan State Spartans.

Bacot had a breakout season for North Carolina in 2021-22, averaging 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per contest. He could have opted to enter the NBA Draft, but instead decided to return for his senior season in quest of a national title. Now it has become apparent that it’s not just the Tar Heels basketball team that benefits from Bacot coming back.

UNC football finished this past season with a disappointing 6-7 record, but has its eyes on a bounce back season in 2022. The Tar Heels haven’t hit the transfer portal nearly as hard as other teams, bringing only two players in Virginia linebacker Noah Taylor and Miami offensive lineman Corey Gaynor. If they can add Cavazos to that list, it would certainly serve as a boost to the defense heading into next season.