Tar Heels land ex-SEC WR amid Bill Belichick transition

North Carolina football bolstered the offense ahead of Memorial Day via the college football transfer portal. Bill Belichick now has a former Southeastern Conference wide receiver he can turn to in 2025.

The Tar Heels landed Nathan Leacock Sunday, per Pete Nakos of On3 on Sunday evening. Leacock originally left Tennessee for Purdue in the portal. He committed to the Boilermakers on Jan. 7.

However, Leacock’s time in West Lafayette got short-lived. He entered the portal on April 22. Leacock now lands at UNC one month later.

He now brings towering 6-foot-3, 217-pound size over to the UNC perimeter. Leacock’s addition comes nearly five days after Belichick and UNC delivered one other big splash. North Carolina beat out Auburn and rival NC State for class of 2026 quarterback Travis Burgess. UNC grabbed a 6-foot-5, 210-pound talent from the state of Georgia.

New North Carolina, Bill Belichick WR once compared to NFL star 

Leacock may have never caught a pass for Purdue during a live game. But he once drew comparisons to one notable NFL star.

Brian Dohn of 247Sports once handed the Raleigh, North Carolina native a major comparison. Dohn saw a lot of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins in watching Leacock’s game.

“Big body type coveted by offensive coordinators to create matchup issues against smaller corners,” was the first sentence in Dohn’s evaluation. He included how Peacock ran a sub 11.00 in the 100-meter dash and how that speed translated to the field.

Leacock executed a lot of touchdown-to-catch ratios plus delivered strong tracking skills for the football. Dohn included how Leacock “adjusts to inaccurate passes well” while showing good body control on his catches.

He ranked as a four-star talent per 247Sports composite. But was the state of North Carolina’s third-best overall prospect. Leacock, however, caught just one pass for 13 yards in the 2024 season. He ultimately got lost in a loaded Tennessee offense. Now he surfaces as a major local portal coup for Belichick.