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Purdue transfer, former Tennessee WR Nathan Leacock commits to North Carolina, Bill Belichick

by:Alex Byington05/26/25

_AlexByington

Nathan Leacock, Tennessee Football | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK) Tennessee wide receiver Nathan Leacock (85) walks onto the field for warm ups before the start of the NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Georgia on Saturday, November 18, 2023 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Purdue transfer and former Tennessee receiver Nathan Leacock is headed home after committing to North Carolina, joining first-year Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick in Chapel Hill. As a redshirt sophomore, Leacock will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Leacock, a Raleigh, N.C.-native, is joining his second team in less than six months after signing with Purdue out of the portal during the Winter window and spending Spring practice with the Boilermakers.

The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Leacock opted to enter the portal and transfer to Purdue after appearing in just five games as a redshirt freshman with the Volunteers in 2024, finishing with just one catch for 13 yards across two years in Knoxville.

Leacock landed with Tennessee as a four-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, where he was the No. 12 receiver and No. 75 overall player nationally in the class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Leacock is the 26th transfer North Carolina has added since Belichick’s official hiring in mid-December 2024, and is the fourth receiver, joining Jason Robinson (Washington), Dayton Sneed (Tennessee) and Adrian Wilson (Colorado).

Mack Brown: UNC invested money, lowered academic standards to help Bill Belichick succeed

With the Bill Belichick era set to start at North Carolina this fall, his predecessor has high expectations. Mack Brown sees the program in position to succeed under the legendary NFL head coach.

Brown left UNC after his second stint this past year, amassing a 44-33 overall record from 2019-24. However, the two sides parted ways at the end of the 2024 season, and North Carolina made quite the splash by landing Belichick. It marks his first college head coaching job.

As he looked ahead to the Tar Heels’ season, Brown pointed out the way the university helped with academics amid the transition. He said the school lowered standards a bit while also investing money to help the program succeed quickly.

“As far as North Carolina and Bill Belichick now, he’s arguably the best coach ever,” Brown told Dusty Dvoracek and Danny Kanell on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “They’ve committed money to it, they’ve helped him with academics. They’ve lowered those standards some. So there’s absolutely no reason they shouldn’t be successful.

“And anymore, they’ve changed the roster. … So you’ve got a chance to succeed at the highest level, and I expect him to do that and I’m proud for him.”

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.