Bill Belichick loses top edge rusher Beau Atkinson to transfer portal: reports

Bill Belichick is about to lose his top edge rusher, as defensive end Beau Atkinson has entered the spring football transfer window and will leave North Carolina, according to ESPN.

With him goes arguably the Tar Heels’ most productive defensive player, and statistically the team’s most prolific pass rusher off the edge.

Atkinson led North Carolina with 7.5 sacks and was also tops on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss last season.

The edge rusher has two years of NCAA eligibility wherever he lands for the 2025 season.

More ... College football spring transfer window opens: What you need to know

How the college football transfer portal works

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office.

Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.

The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.

Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.

Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him.

And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.

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