Troy transfer offensive tackle Daniel King commits to North Carolina

Troy transfer offensive tackle Daniel King committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday evening, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

The multi-time All-Sun Belt selection has played 2,642 snaps in his FBS career. He’s also made multiple starts in his career at offensive tackle. King previously announced plans to enter the 2025 NFL draft but entered the transfer portal on Wednesday. He is the top available offensive lineman in the portal, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking.

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound offensive lineman has allowed only nine sacks in 1,396 career pass-blocking snaps. He allowed just two sacks in 2024 across 408 pass-blocking situations and was the fourth-rated run blocker in the league, according to PFF.

King told On3 on Thursday he had no other visits scheduled. Former New England Patriots head coach and future NFL Hall of Famer Bill Belichick accepted the North Carolina job in December, sending shockwaves across the sport of football.

Since taking over the Tar Heels’ program, Belichick has added 16 transfers. King would be the fifth pickup on the offensive line, joining Holy Cross’ Christo Kelly, Alabama’s Miles McVay, Rice’s Chad Lindberg and Prairie View A&M’s William Boone.

Belichick takes over a program that finished the 2024 season 6-7 with a loss in the Fenway Bowl to UConn.

King ready to play for Belichick, but there are questions about his contract and the potential lure of the NFL

It’s important to note the information about his buyout and the fact that he has not signed a contract.

One report from CBS Sports said Belichick hadn’t signed his contract yet, leading to questions about whether his $10 million buyout would come into play. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero doubled down on that amid the rumors swirling around.

Pelissero noted UNC general manager Michael Lombardi’s public statements about Belichick’s future after signing a five-year contract – although the first three are guaranteed. However, he also pointed out Belichick hasn’t spoken about the noise to this point, which would go against one of his long-standing policies in New England.

“I am acutely aware of what Michael Lombardi continues to post one every social media operation, saying ‘The NFL is not an option. Bill doesn’t want to go to the NFL. We laugh about the NFL. It’s a joke to us. He only wants to be at the University of North Carolina,’” Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I also know Bill Belichick, who for years, with players and coaches, kind of had a rule – you’re supposed to speak about yourself only. We’ve not heard directly from Bill Belichick on any of these things.

“The facts right now are, he’s gotten calls from teams, he did get a call from Tom Brady at one point. He has not signed a contract – I know that’s not unusual at North Carolina. But when I referenced a couple of weeks ago the questions about whether Bill Belichick or a new team would even have to pay that $10 million buyout, that’s what I was referring to, which was there’s not a memorandum of understanding or a contract that’s been signed by all parties here. So, there’s a little bit of gray area in terms of how exactly that would apply.”

On3’s Pete Nakos and Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.