Holy Cross offensive lineman Christo Kelly committed to North Carolina through the transfer portal as the first new player to join new coach Bill Belichick.
Kelly simply wrote “Committed” and tagged the Tar Heels’ team account on X in a post Monday.
A graduate transfer, Kelly spent the past two years playing center at Holy Cross. In addition to Kelly, a four-star quarterback recruit, Bryce Baker, has also remained committed to the Tar Heels despite the departure of coach Mack Brown.
Belichick said players have approached the program to join, and that some name, image and licensing money is also involved in getting new team members via the transfer portal.
“We’re selling the program but a lot of players and agents are coming to us saying that we wanna be part of the program … We’re spending money. Not as much as we spent in the NFL but we’re tossing around a little bit of money,” Belichick said Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show”.
A team captain, Kelly was at Holy Cross for five years. He did not play as a freshman in 2020.
The Holy Cross offensive line ranked 11th overall nationally, allowing a Patriot League low of just 1.08 sacks per game. Holy Cross won the Patriot League for a sixth straight year. Kelly was named first team All-Patriot League in 2024.
Kelly will have one year of eligibility remaining.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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