Mack Brown Hit Transfer Portal Jackpot
With Two-Year Tar Heels Lampkin, Huzzie

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

When North Carolina football coach Mack Brown built the Tar Heels into a top-10 program in the 1990s, he did so almost entirely by recruiting the high school ranks with aplomb.

In recent years, during his second tenure at Carolina, he has had to take a much different approach.

Thanks to two major NCAA rule changes — the creation of the transfer portal and, more recently, immediate eligibility for virtually all transfers — Brown and his staff have signed fewer high school prospects and far more major college transfers.

When the 6-4 Tar Heels visit 5-5 Boston College on Saturday (noon, The CW), eight of their 22 starters on offense and defense will be major college transfers. Similarly, among UNC’s greatest difference-makers, or the team’s top candidates for postseason honors, truly half are major college transfers.

Brown signed running back Omarion Hampton (#2 nationally with 142 rushing yards per game) and edge rusher Kaimon Rucker (the ultimate difference-maker on defense) the old-fashioned way, straight from the high school ranks. Hampton was a prep All-American at Cleveland High in Clayton, N.C. Rucker was a three-star prospect from Georgia.

The Tar Heels’ other two stars, offensive guard Willie Lampkin (the highest-graded Power Four guard in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus) and cornerback Alijah Huzzie (only 20 receptions allowed on 358 coverage snaps), signed with UNC soon after the 2022 season via the transfer portal, after proving themselves at the collegiate level while at Coastal Carolina and East Tennessee State, respectively. This is their second season as high-impact starters in Carolina blue, and they are making the most of it.

“Willie and Alijah were great players for us last year, and they’re even better players for us this year,” Brown said. “They are both extremely hard workers who work very hard to be masters of their craft, and that’s what we’ve helped them do here. We wish we could’ve had them for five years, but we’re thrilled that we’ve had them for two. They are big-time players for us pretty much every week.”

A legendary recruiter throughout his Hall of Fame career, Brown long ago turned UNC into “the place to be” in the eyes of countless high school prospects, especially those in North Carolina, but also many in several states more famous for their high-level high school football.

The in-state prep stars who became college All-Americans and/or National Football League draft picks while with the Tar Heels in the 1990s included wide receiver Bucky Brooks (Raleigh Millbrook), wide receiver Na Brown (Reidsville), tight end Alge Crumpler (Wilmington New Hanover), defensive tackle Russell Davis (Fayetteville Smith), defensive end Greg Ellis (East Wake), cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock (Concord), running back Leon Johnson (Morganton Freedom), defensive end Marcus Jones (Southwest Onslow), running back Natrone Means (Central Cabarrus), linebacker Mike Morton (Kannapolis Brown), defensive tackle Andre Purvis (Swansboro), linebacker Brian Simmons (New Bern), cornerback Thomas Smith (Gates County), linebacker Brandon Spoon (Burlington Williams), defensive end Oscar Sturgis (Richmond County), defensive tackle Rick Terry (Lexington), safety Bracey Walker (Fayetteville Pine Forest) and cornerback Robert Williams (Shelby).

“Our foundation has been the state of North Carolina,” Brown said. “At that time, we wanted the best high school football players in this state to know that they would give all their dreams a great chance to come true if they played for the Tar Heels, and we’ve delivered on that promise repeatedly. We still feel that way.

“They could play in a top conference. They could get a great education. They could live in a wonderful college town, where their family, friends and high school coaches and teammates could come see them play without getting on a plane. They could play a lot of games on national television, which was a much bigger deal back then. They could win a lot of football games. They could play in the national spotlight, as we did so often in the 1990s, and play in bowl games and other very big games. They could prepare themselves for the NFL, while also earning their degree and preparing themselves for life after football.”

The out-of-state prep stars who became college All-Americans and/or National Football League draft picks while with the Tar Heels in the 1990s included defensive end Roy Barker (New York), cornerback Dre Bly (Virginia), offensive lineman Brian Bollinger (Florida), safety Omar Brown (Pennsylvania), safety Sean Crocker (Virginia), fullback Deon Dyer (Virginia), defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban (Maryland), fullback William Henderson (Virginia), linebacker Sedrick Hodge (Georgia), defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday (South Carolina), linebacker Dwight Hollier (Virginia), tight end Freddie Jones (D.C.), safety Rondell Jones (Maryland), running back Jonathan Linton (Pennsylvania), linebacker Kivuusama Mays (Alabama/Texas), linebacker Keith Newman (Florida), defensive end Mike Pringley (New Jersey), defensive tackle Austin Robbins (D.C.), punter Brian Schmitz (Illinois) and linebacker Tommy Thigpen (Virginia).

“As much as we love the state of North Carolina, and we still try to get as many of the best high school players from here as we can, we’ve always had to supplement that talent in other ways,” Brown said. “We have had extraordinary success over the years with players from states where their families can drive here to see them play: Virginia, the Maryland/D.C. area, South Carolina, Georgia. Some are a little farther away, but there are so many great players who often get great coaching, and play against great competition, in places like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Texas.

“There was a time, back in the ‘90s, when we would occasionally sign a junior college player, like a (quarterback) Chris Keldorf, when we had a very specific need. Now, with the transfer portal, you can fill those specific needs with major college transfers, but the portal is much more than that. When you look out on that practice field now, half of our best players are (major college) transfers, so that shows you how important the portal is right now.”

Neither Lampkin nor Huzzie received any scholarship offers from Power Four programs during their high school careers.

Lampkin, now a 5-foot-11, 290-pounder, was overlooked as a prep prospect mainly because of his height. He starred for a state championship football team at Lakeland High in Florida, where he also became a state champion in wrestling, while posting a 47-0 record in his weight class. He didn’t fit the major conference prototype, though, as he’s nine inches shorter than the tallest lineman and at least four inches shorter than each of the other o-linemen on UNC’s depth chart.

At Coastal Carolina, though, Lampkin blossomed. He started 38 consecutive games for the Chanticleers over three seasons and earned All-Sun Belt honors each year. After second-team accolades during his freshman and sophomore seasons, he earned first-team honors as a junior, while being named the league’s 2022 offensive lineman of the year.

Lampkin was happy and thriving at Coastal Carolina, as the Chanticleers went 31-7 during his three seasons there. After his junior year, though, the head coach who had recruited him, Jamey Chadwell, left to take the Liberty job. That’s when Lampkin decided to enter the transfer portal.

“On my visit, I knew this was the place for me,” Lampkin said. “Coach Brown has built an amazing family atmosphere here, and I wanted to be a part of it. The football facilities are amazing, and the way the players here are treated is first-class.”

Huzzie, now a 5-foot-10, 195-pounder, entered his senior year at Heard County High School in Georgia believing that he would be a college basketball player. He even had a partial scholarship offer in that sport to play at the Division Three level.

In football, Huzzie’s top option for a long time was nearby Savannah State, a Division Two program. He ended up at East Tennessee State, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program at the Division One level, mainly because ETSU’s defensive backs coach at the time, Steve Brown, relentlessly recruited Huzzie for months, even after the player told him he planned to play college hoops instead and despite the fact that Huzzie played mostly quarterback as a high school senior.

During his four years (including a redshirt campaign) at ETSU, Huzzie started 30 games at cornerback and gradually grew to become a first-team FCS All-American. That was during his redshirt junior campaign, in 2022, when he led all FCS players with 22 passes defended and finished second with six interceptions.

After receiving minimal recruiting attention as a high school prospect, Huzzie quickly experienced an avalanche of interest in the transfer portal. He ultimately chose the Tar Heels over Appalachian State, SMU and Tulane.

An honorable mention All-ACC selection last year as both a defensive back and a specialist (punt returner), Huzzie has put himself in position for postseason accolades again this year. During UNC’s 358 coverage snaps on defense this season, Huzzie has been targeted only 46 times and allowed only 20 receptions. As a punt returner, he ranks fifth nationally with 15.4 yards per return, including a 69-yarder for a touchdown against Georgia Tech.

“Willie and Alijah were already outstanding college football players before they got here, and that’s obviously a fundamental difference compared to recruiting even the best high school prospects,” Brown said. “They’ve helped our program in countless ways, and they’ve told us that we’re helping them reach their dreams, and that’s the way it should be. That’s the win-win.

“It’s also been really big that we’ve had them for two full seasons, instead of just one, because that allows for more of the continuity and development that you see more often with the players we’ve signed out of high school. These multi-year transfers can sometimes be the best of both worlds.”

Top “Big Four” Major College Transfers
(2024 Starters)

North Carolina (8): QB Jacolby Criswell (Arkansas), WR Nate McCollum (Georgia Tech), LT Howard Sampson (North Texas), OC Austin Blaske (Georgia), RG Willie Lampkin (Coastal Carolina), FS Stick Lane (Georgia State), SS Jakeen Harris (NC State), CB Alijah Huzzie (East Tennessee State); ALSO: QB Max Johnson (Texas A&M; injured)

Duke (7): QB Maalik Murphy (Texas), RB Star Thomas (New Mexico State), LT Bruno Fina (UCLA), LG Caleb Krings (Elon), DT Kendy Charles (Liberty), LB Ozzie Nicholas (Princeton), LB Alex Howard (Youngstown State)

NC State (7): RB Jordan Waters (Duke), WR Dacari Collins (Clemson), WR Noah Rogers (Ohio State), TE Justin Joly (UConn), OC Zeke Correll (Notre Dame), SS DK Kaufman (Auburn), CB Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland); ALSO: QB Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina; injured),

Wake Forest (5): QB Hank Bachmeier (Louisiana Tech), OG Keagan Trost (Indiana State), DT Bryce Ganious (Villanova), DT Kevin Pointer (Louisiana-Monroe), LB Branson Combs (Southern Illinois); ALSO: CB Capone Blue (Kent State; injured)

NOTE: Highlighted players are viewed as All-ACC candidates this season.