Maryland DL Lavon Johnson signs with North Carolina

Maryland DL Lavon Johnson has signed with North Carolina out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. That reporting comes per On3’s Pete Nakos on Friday.

Johnson has been in contact with several programs since his entry into the portal on Wednesday, like Texas, Texas A&M, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Mississippi State, and Rutgers, including a visit to the Longhorns on Thursday. However, it’s UNC that was able to sign him out of the portal.

Johnson has made 18 appearances on the defensive line in the past two seasons for the Terrapins. He would post 19 tackles, a pair being for loss, with one sack in his career as an underclassman in College Park.

Johnson, a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, played high school football at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. He was a three-star prospect there in the 2023 cycle. He was also rated as a Top 150 defensive lineman in the class and a Top 10 player out of Connecticut. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

North Carolina has been active again in the portal during the spring window. The Tar Heels have now added Johnson along with LB Mikai Gbayor (Missouri), QB Gio Lopez (South Alabama), WR Adrian Wilson (Colorado), and P Jacob Horvath (Eastern Illinois). They’ll now go with 19 other transfers the program has brought in for their debut season upcoming under Bill Belichick.

UNC has then, in turn, also lost QB Ryan Browne, WR Christian Hamilton, OT Zach Rice, DL Joel Starlings, and three linebackers with Malaki Hamrick, Cade Law, and Crews Law. They’ll be the latest departures from Chapel Hill this offseason, amidst the coaching change there, with these latest ones coming following spring practice.

North Carolina has had a lot of transactions in the portal heading into year one under Belichick. Johnson is now the latest one with his signing by the team to end this week.

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.