Already on a four-game losing streak, UNC football loses starting player to wrist surgery

North Carolina football’s tough season has taken another hit as the team announced Monday afternoon that senior tight end Bryson Nesbit will undergo surgery on Tuesday for an injured wrist. Nesbit suffered the injury during the first quarter of the Tar Heels’ loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday, a team spokesman said.

The timeline for Nesbit’s return is unclear — a team spokesman said he is “out indefinitely” — with UNC set to face Virginia on Oct. 26.

Nesbit, the team’s top tight end, leads UNC in receptions with 24 on the season. Through seven games, he racked up 264 yards and three touchdowns. His 13 career touchdowns are a school record for tight ends and the senior is a vocal leader for that position group.

Graduate tight end John Copenhaver, who has 18 catches for 193 yards and three touchdowns, will likely be asked to step up in Nesbit’s absence.

Nesbit, a returning first-team all-ACC player, entered the fall on the Mackey Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top tight end, despite battling a torn meniscus late last season.

This summer, speaking to the media at UNC training camp, Nesbit said he felt much better physically and expressed excitement for the upcoming year following his knee surgery. He was approached by other teams with opportunities to transfer in the offseason, but didn’t even entertain the notion of leaving Chapel Hill, he said.

“I think I had a pretty good year last year,” Nesbit said in late July, “but this year I’m just really looking forward to getting in new tight end room and just putting a full year together.”

But now, Nesbit’s wrist injury leaves a major void in an already struggling offense, as the Tar Heels enter their open week with a 3-4 record (0-3 ACC). The tight end’s injury will also likely impact his prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft.