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Holy Cross OL transfer Christo Kelly commits to Bill Belichick, North Carolina

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•12/16/24•

BarkleyTruax

NCAA Football: North Carolina-Bill Belichick Press Conference
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick has his first transfer portal commit.

On Monday, former Holy Cross center Christo Kelly has committed to North Carolina, he revealed. Kelly entered the portal on Nov. 25.

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Belichick was known for drafting players many have never heard of from schools many are not familiar with during his time as New England Patriots head coach. This continues that trend, as Kelly spent nearly a month in the portal before ultimately making his move to sign with the Tar Heels.

However, just because Holy Cross isn’t a well-known football school around the country doesn’t mean Kelly is any less of a prospect. He was a team captian for his squad this past season and was named to the All-Patriot League First Team as well as being put on the AFCA Good Works Team (only 22 players in America are named to this each year) and on the Academic All-Patriot League team.

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2024 was Kelly’s fifth year playing college football, per his Holy Cross athletic bio. As a team captain, Kelly started all 12 games for them at center. He anchored an offensive line that allowed just 1.08 sacks per game — which led the Patriot League and was rated No. 11 nationally. Their offensive unit averaged 27.6 points per game in 2024.

He’s the first, but certainly not the last player to commit to Belichick this offseason. His commitment sets the stage for an exciting 2025 offseason for the North Carolina Tar Heels football program in Chapel Hill.

The portal officially opened on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers.

That means roughly 25 percent of all FBS scholarship players hit free agency in one year, per On3’s Pete Nakos.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.