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North Carolina landed its biggest transfer portal news of the window when defensive lineman Melkart Abou-Jaoude re-signed with the Tar Heels, the school announced Tuesday.
Abou-Jaoude made an immediate impact in his first season at North Carolina, logging 10.5 sacks to lead the ACC and earn second-team All-ACC honors from both the league and The Associated Press. His sack total tied for eighth nationally and made him the first UNC player since Kareem Martin in 2013 to reach double digits in a season.
The redshirt junior also paced all Tar Heels defensive linemen with 646 snaps. He ranked fourth on the team with 47 total tackles and added 12 tackles for loss.
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Abou-Jaoude became one of the most dominant pass rushers in the country in the second half of the season, racking up eight sacks. In two of those three games — a loss to Virginia and a win against Stanford – he posted three sacks. He won the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Week award after the team’s victory against Syracuse, in which he finished with six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
“Melkart is a little bit of a quieter guy, but very well respected because of his work ethic, his toughness and his consistency,” UNC head coach Bill Belichick said during the season. “He just shows up every day, gives you his best. You know you can count on him. His teammates have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and he’s had great production. So his leadership really comes from his day in and day out performance and toughness and reliability.”
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: Melkart Abou-Jaoude re-signs with Tar Heels
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