With Bill Belichick now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina football has become a unique destination for players entering the transfer portal. In a late addition to the portal, former Nebraska and Missouri linebacker, Mikai Gbayor, has entered the portal and immediately set up a visit to Chapel Hill to see the Tar Heels program.
Gbayor spent last season with Nebraska where he totaled 49 tackles, three passes deflected, and one sack. He played in 12 games for the Cornhuskers against elite talent Big Ten teams like Ohio State, Indiana, and Illinois.
His best game of the season came in an overtime loss to the No. 24-ranked Illinois, where he posted six tackles. His lone sack on the year came against No. 16-ranked, at the time, Indiana.
Earlier this offseason, Gbayor entered the transfer portal and committed to the Southeastern Conference, Missouri.
According to Eli Hoff, "Gbayor's entry will be eye-catching because he transferred to Mizzou from Beraska during the winter window and will leave one window later -- without having played a snap for the Tigers."
Former Missouri and Nebraska linebacker Mikai Gbayor is set to visit North Carolina, sources tell @GabyUrrutia247 and me.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 11, 2025
Posted 49 tackles at Nebraska last season. Transferred to Missouri earlier this offseason but is now back in the portal.https://t.co/lrhFIqnL4Epic.twitter.com/UwftKzrpaR
Hoff continued, "But after Gbayor signed, the landscape of the linebacker room changed. MU learned that linebacker Triston Newson would be eligible to play in the 2025 season. That, combined with developmental leaps taken by underclassmen, clogged up Gbayor's path to playing time, per a team source familiar with personnel plans. His portal U-turn is largely due to a change in circumstances at his position."
Belichick could add another linebacker to an already-stacked defense for Steven Belichick. The transfer portal already sent linebackers Khmori House from Washington and Ashton Woods from West Virginia to North Carolina.
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