UNC football earns commitment from transfer who recently was on the opposing sideline

The UNC football program disappointingly fell to UConn but was able to secure one of its opposing defenders for next season via the transfer portal. Head coach Bill Belichick and company landed former Husky Pryce Yates.

Inside Carolina was first on the news:

Yates, had an impressive performance of six tackles — four of which being solo. Now, he flips into another chapter of his football career to play underneath a legendary coach in Belichick.

The San Antonio, Texas native stands at 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds. He ended his career at UConn with 108 total tackles (49 solo), 59 assists, three passes defended, as well as three forced fumbles. Not too bad by any means, but those numbers look to increase as he plays in Chapel Hill.

There's room for more but Yates is the third defensive lineman to commit to Belichick in year one.

Inside Carolina's Don Callahan writes:

"Yates is the third defensive lineman that UNC has plucked out of the Transfer Portal. Future linemates  (Delaware) and  (East Carolina) committed last month. In total, the Tar Heels have scored commitments from 13 transfers.

Defensive line was always going to be a Transfer Portal priority for UNC. The program lost six scholarship players from the D-line room following the season: , , , , , and . Those departures include four full-time starters."

This commitment changes the number from 12 to 13 transfers, with room to continue adding more and presumably so.

Who wouldn't want to play for Belichick? A Super Bowl champion, and years of coaching experience in the NFL — featuring great players such as Rob Gronkowski, and of course, Tom Brady.

Belichick is capable of turning college players, experienced or not into a well developed piece. And that should be exciting for the future of the program, after previous seasons of falling short of expectations.

The question now is: who's joining the Tar Heels next?