Beau Atkinson is heading to Columbus, Ohio.
BREAKING: North Carolina standout transfer EDGE Beau Atkinson has Committed to Ohio State, @on3sports has learned
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 24, 2025
The 6’6 260 EDGE totaled 54 Tackles, 11 Sacks, & 1 FF (2 seasons)
Was one of the Top Players to enter the Portal this Springhttps://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/nOB6mVDGr6
The former UNC football standout defensive lineman has found a new home with the Ohio State Buckeyes. A rising junior, Atkinson will look to help the Buckeyes look to defend its national title this upcoming season.
Atkinson is coming off a breakout sophomore season, a year in which he recorded 7.5 sacks. Of those sacks, 6.5 came over the Tar Heels' final six games of the season. Essentially, he became an unstoppable force on North Carolina's pass rush.
Over his two seasons in Chapel Hill, Atkinson recorded 54 total tackles (16.5 for loss). He sacked the quarterback on 11 separate occasions and also forced a fumble.
With Kaimon Rucker exhausting his college eligibility, along with Atkinson's decision to enter the transfer portal, the UNC football program has now lost each of its top two sack producers. North Carolina will explore options via the transfer portal to help replace the production lost by both player's departures.
In the current landscape of college athletics, players elect to transfer for various reasons. Atkinson is a guy that, in a traditional world that we were so accustomed to, would've been a Tar Heel for his entire career. An in-state player who was part of the Kenan-Flagler school of business, Atkinson has developed into a tremendous player and student-athlete, as he's the type of guy that you want to see stick around.
However, you can't fault him one bit for putting himself in a better position to compete for a national title, especially leading into his junior season (a pivotal year for him in terms of his NFL Draft stock). Additionally, top-tier programs likely threw a good amount of NIL money his way, so the combination of all the factors involved makes it tough to pass on.
Beau Atkinson will be missed in Chapel Hill, but it's safe to say that the Ohio State Buckeyes landed an outstanding individual. Hopefully, Atkinson builds off his sophomore season and helps Ohio State win a lot of games this season.