Is Jelani Thurman starting?
Jelani Thurman is the projected starter at TE for North Carolina Tar Heels.
Jelani Thurman is the projected starting TE on a Solid North Carolina — 81 OVR.
See full North Carolina Tar Heels depth chart ›Depth at TE · North Carolina Tar Heels
- 14581Jelani ThurmanStarter
- 28459Shamar Easter
- 38757Carson Sneed
What's Next
The Story
Making His Case
A 4-star recruit out of Langston Hughes, ranked #105 nationally coming out of high school. This season: 7 catches, 84 yards, 1 TD. That's 4% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 81 overall (Good tier).
- Jersey
- #45
- Class
- RS JR/TR
- Height
- 6'6"
- Weight
- 250 lbs
- Transfer
- Ohio State
Stats
| Season | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | 7 | 84 | 1 |
Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.
Recruiting Profile
- Stars
- ★★★★☆4-star
- Composite
- 0.9505
- National Rank
- #105
- High School
- Langston Hughes
- Hometown
- Fairburn, GA
Why this rating?
On a 77-rated offense; 48th-percentile production at transfer origin (×1.00 for competition level) put them +4 vs unit starters → 81.
2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.
2026 Game Log
Sep 12WETSUYDS 0
- CAR
- 0
- YDS
- 0
- AVG
- 0.0
- TD
- 0
- REC
- 4
- YDS
- 71
- AVG
- 17.8
- TD
- 1
Final W 35-3
Aug 29WTCUYDS 0
- CAR
- 0
- YDS
- 0
- AVG
- 0.0
- TD
- 0
- REC
- 4
- YDS
- 94
- AVG
- 23.5
- TD
- 0
Final W 15-10
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | WETSU | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Aug 29 | WTCU | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 |
Jelani Thurman's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.