Ohio State Tight End Transfer Jelani Thurman Commits to UNC

Ohio State tight end transfer Jelani Thurman announced his commitment to North Carolina late on Saturday night.

Coming out of Fairburn (Ga.) Hughes High, Thurman was a top-120 recruit and the No. 5 TE in the nation.

Over three seasons in Columbus, Thurman has appeared in 33 games — with a start against Missouri in the ’23 Cotton Bowl — catching 13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He had seven catches for 84 yards in 2025. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

UNC carried five scholarship tight ends during the 2025 season. Four of them have since departed the program via the Transfer Portal.

Thurman becomes UNC’s 16th transfer commitment of the offseason and the second of tight end, joining Colorado State’s Jaxxon Warren.

UNC Transfer Portal Commitments

1. QB Billy Edwards (Jan. 4) – Wisconsin
   Maryland starter in ’04, missed most of ’05 with knee injury
2. OL Andrew Threatt (Jan. 4) – Charleston Southern
   Versatile all-conference lineman with 23 consecutive starts
3. TE Jaxxon Warren (Jan. 4) – Colorado State
   Six-foot-eight target had seven catches in two games before season-ending injury
4. DL Tarvorise Brown (Jan. 5) – Florida
   Appeared in three games in reserve role last season
5. DE Jaylen Harvey (Jan. 5) – Penn State
   Former four-star prospect saw 159 snaps as a RS-freshman
6. WR Trech Kekahuna (Jan. 5) – Wisconsin
   Recorded 55 catches for 614 yards in Badger career
7. OL Sean Thompkins (Jan. 6) – Baylor
   Played 460 snaps at tackle last season
8. DB Ade Willie (Jan. 6) – Michigan State
   Started four games in ’25 before redshirting
9. QB Miles O’Neill (Jan. 6) – Texas A&M
   Appeared in seven games in reserve in ’25, recruited to TAMU by Petrino
10. LB Peyton Seelmann (Jan. 6) – Richmond
    Finished regular season Top 10 nationally in tackles
11. WR Mason Humphrey (Jan. 8) – Lehigh
    Had 35 catches for 650 yards as junior
12. OL Shaq McRoy (Jan. 9) – Arkansas
    Played in six games and one start, totaling 58 offensive snaps, at right tackle
13. LB Derek McDonald (Jan. 10) – Syracuse
    Career totals of 173 tackles across the last five seasons
14. OL Rowan Byrne (Jan. 10) – Clemson
    Played in one game in 2025
15. K Aeron Burrell (Jan. 10) – LSU
    Kickoff specialist the last two seasons for Tigers
16. TE Jelani Thurman (Jan. 10) – Ohio State
    Had seven catches for the Buckeyes in 2025