Report: UNC cornerback will opt-out of bowl, prep for NFL Draft

North Carolina junior Kyler McMichael won’t play for the Tar Heels in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at the end of this month. The 6-foot-0 cornerback started his career at Clemson before transferring to Chapel Hill in the summer of 2019. Now, he’s set his sights on the NFL.

The Atlanta, Georgia, native posted 17 tackles this season, a step back from 26 in the abbreviated 2020 season. He nabbed the first interception of his career this year against Wofford on Nov. 20.

Coming out of high school at Northview in Northcross, McMichael had offers from almost three dozen Division-I programs. He was a four-star prospect and ranked No. 53 in the nation, according to On3.

UNC coach Mack Brown revealed that McMichael was interested in checking out his NFL Draft stock last month.

The Tar Heels will face South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30 without the veteran cornerback.

Transfer portal booming

The NCAA transfer portal has exploded as expected since the start of the offseason. Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, USC quarterback Kedon Slovis and many more entered on Monday.

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal goes through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to reoffer a scholarship.