Mack Brown emphasizes the importance of being two-deep throughout the depth chart

The NCAA transfer portal has introduced a lot of new wrinkles into college football as moving around freely to escape an iffy depth chart situation has become much more doable in the modern era.

It has left coaches scrambling to make sure they have enough depth.

“We also have talked about being two-deep, now we need to do that,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. “The transfer portal is even more reason for everybody to be two-deep, because you don’t want your guys on the second team to leave. You need them to stay, because that’s your future.”

It’s a double-edged sword of sorts. Coaches now have the freedom to be able to plug holes on their depth chart with more experienced talent out of the transfer portal.

But they also have to worry about their talented players seeking spotlights elsewhere. And there’s still the traditional transfer demographic, the ones Brown referred to, the backups further down the depth chart that aren’t playing as much as they like.

Lose enough of those and it can become difficult to maintain a set culture over the course of a couple years.

To that end, Brown has been encouraging his coaches to take a new approach when it comes to handling roster management. It’s something they now have to be aware of at all times.

“Most of the time it’s the guys that aren’t playing enough that leave,” Brown said. “So I’ve told our coaches look and see, if your guy was in the portal, would you want him back? And if so then trust him and play and put him out there and let him go.”

North Carolina didn’t suffer the same fate as a couple of its ACC brethren this offseason, losing a star quarterback. Wake Forest saw Sam Hartman bolt for an opportunity at Notre Dame, while NC State watched Devin Leary head for greener pastures at Kentucky.

Drake Maye stood firm at North Carolina.

That alone should help the Tar Heels continue building on the momentum from a year ago. And staying healthy near the top of the depth chart could provide the final lift.

No matter how many players you lure from the transfer portal to round out your depth chart, it’s still hard to overcome a slew of injuries during the season.

“We also had some really bad injuries, especially on our defensive line at the mid to latter part of the season and that really hurt us,” Brown said. “So we’ve got to have guys ready to step up when some other people get hurt. And if you’re (not) playing enough people, a guy that gets so tired that he gets hurt late in the season because he’s more tired (can happen).”