Having lost Andrew Simpson and Mikai Gbayor to graduation and Khmori House to the transfer portal, the UNC football program had some work to do to replace the lost production at the linebacker position.
The aforementioned trio combined to play a staggering 93% of the total snaps by all Tar Heel linebackers during the 2025 season, as there is a lot of snaps up for grabs leading up to the 2026 campaign.
When you lose some standout talent, it's always good to be able to replace it with quality veterans via the transfer portal. North Carolina was able to add depth to its linebacker core, securing a commitment from one of the nation's top tacklers from a season ago.
Peyton Seelmann commits to North Carolina
Peyton Seelmann, the former Richmond standout, has committed to Bill Belichick and the UNC football program. He's coming off his sophomore season, one in which he totaled 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the Spiders.
This dude even had a 20-tackle game against Bucknell, showing just how active he can be on the defensive side of the football.
BREAKING: Richmond transfer LB Peyton Seelmann has committed to North Carolina, @PeteNakos reports🐏https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/0wVQbbnQYk
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 7, 2026
What's next for UNC
Seelmann is a huge get for Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder is a guy who the UNC football program can rely heavily on right out of the gate, as his skill set seems to be a strong fit for the defensive scheme that Bill and Steve Belichick aim to deploy.
While this is a notable transfer portal addition for the UNC football program, you probably could expect at least one more addition at the linebacker position during this cycle. With multiple holes to fill, don't be shocked to see the Tar Heels bring in another veteran linebacker to complement what Seelmann brings to the table.
North Carolina has had to reshape its linebacker core quite a bit over the past few seasons, but the encouraging sign has to be what they were able to do with a short amount of time to work with last season when the new regime came into place.
Now, the Tar Heels coaching staff will have a new-look unit, but expects the same type of production regardless of who plays the available snaps at linebacker in 2026.