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Jake TrotterApr 16, 2025, 06:55 PM ET
- Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at [email protected] and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.
North Carolina quarterback Ryan Browne and defensive lineman Beau Atkinson are entering the transfer portal, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Atkinson led the Tar Heels with 7.5 sacks last season and had 54 tackles in two seasons at UNC.
With the Tar Heels in pursuit of South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez, Browne is leaving as well.
ESPN's Eli Lederman reported Monday that UNC is the leader to land Lopez, who passed for 2,559 yards and 25 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman last fall.
Browne arrived at UNC in December after transferring from Purdue, where he passed for 532 yards during the 2024 season.
UNC offensive tackle Zach Rice, a former five-star recruit, also entered the portal. He played in 20 games over the past three seasons. Zion Ferguson, a former three-star defensive back, is in the portal, in addition to reserve linebacking brothers Cade Law and Crews Law. But Wednesday, coach Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels landed linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who had 49 tackles for Nebraska last season. Gbayor initially transferred to Missouri in December.
ESPN's Max Olson contributed to this report.
