UNC Scores Commitment From Michigan State DB Transfer Ade Willie

Michigan State DB Ade Willie committed to North Carolina on Tuesday, before concluding his official visit to the school.

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“I committed because of the opportunity to take another step in my development in this game and to be coached by an NFL all-time great in the world of head coaches,” Willie told Inside Carolina.

Over four seasons at Michigan State, Willie appeared in 30 games, including the first four this fall, before sitting out the remainder of the season to red-shirt and preserve his final year of eligibility. He made seven starts in a Spartan uniform, including all four of his appearances this season at safety and the final two games of the 2024 campaign at cornerback. Willie concluded his MSU career with 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.

Willie, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound Baltimore, Md. native, played high school ball at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.

North Carolina graduated four defensive backs and had three more enter the transfer portal. The graduates — Thaddeus Dixon, Marcus Allen, Gavin Gibson, and Will Hardy — started most of the season.

“This year we have a better understanding of what’s in the portal — what could be in the portal — what kind of players we want from the portal that fit what we have to do here at North Carolina,” UNC general manager Michael Lombardi said after the season. “And so we have to be ready to be able to fill the spots that we have to, and that’s why it’s really important to have a grading system, to have a personnel department so that we can sit there and honestly say … we need to get a better player.”

This offseason cycle features a single transfer portal window, which was moved back to Jan. 2 and will remain open through Jan. 16. Once in the portal, a player may directly communicate with and visit other programs.

The window restricts entering the portal, but it does not dictate when a player must choose his next school, so at least from a retention standpoint, UNC will know who isn’t leaving by the end of the window.

“The good thing about this year is, is when the portal ends on the 16th, we will have our team,” Lombardi said. “We’ll have a team meeting on the 17th, and there’ll be no changes to that team. We’ll be able to build the culture. We’ll be able to build continuity within the team.”