North Carolina has lost a talented wide receiver who may have contributed in 2011, but, according to the player, it had everything to do with a very personal situation and, as the headline suggests, absolutely nothing to do with the UNC football program.
Speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Brendon Felder (the smaller dude in the photo) confirmed to the paper that he is transferring from the Tar Heels to Pittsburgh. Felder, a Monroeville Gateway (PA) graduate, is very close to his grandparents and, unfortunately, they have taken ill.
Felder was emotional when talking about both his grandparents and his decision to leave Chapel Hill“They are very important to me in my life,” Felder said Tuesday night while waiting to board an airplane for Pittsburgh. “My grandmother would take care of me when I was little and being close to home will enable me to focus (on college).”
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“I teared up a lot today,” he said of saying goodbye to his friends. “It was an emotional day. North Carolina was a place I grew to love.”
Due to his personal situation, Felder will seek a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately in 2011 instead of sitting out a transfer year. That appeal will likely be successful.
Felder, who redshirted in 2010, was a three-star member of UNC’s 2010 recruiting class and the No. 47 receiver in the country according to Rivals.com.