The UConn Huskies had their best season since 2010, and their reward is a Fenway Bowl clash with a North Carolina Tar Heels side transitioning to an exciting new coaching staff in 2025, led by legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick.

Between injuries, transfer portal entrants, and NFL Draft declarations, there will be several UConn and North Carolina players not playing in the Fenway Bowl.

Top UConn Players Not Playing in Fenway Bowl

Thanks to the CFN Bowl Game Opt-Out Tracker, we know which players from the Huskies won’t be in action in the Fenway Bowl.

• Nathaniel Wallace-Dilling, P, UConn (transfer portal)
• Reggie Akles, CB, UConn (transfer portal)
• Durrell Robinson, RB, UConn (transfer portal)
• Jarvarius Sims, CB, UConn (transfer portal)
• Brock Montgomery, WR, UConn (transfer portal)
• Lee Molette III, DB, UConn (transfer portal)
• Julien Simon, LB, UConn (transfer portal)
• Skyler Bell, WR, UConn (transfer portal)
• Pryce Yates, DL, UConn (transfer portal)
• Malcolm Bell, CB, UConn (transfer portal)

10 UConn student-athletes entered the college football transfer portal at the end of the season. The Huskies haven’t issued a depth chart ahead of their matchup with the Tar Heels, and with very little information on social media as to individual intentions on social media, the assumption is that all those players are not playing in the Fenway Bowl.

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Wide receiver Bell is the most notable of the UConn players not playing in the Fenway Bowl. He led the team with 783 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns this season. However, running back Robinson is also in the portal. He paced the team in yards per carry (6.8) and rushing touchdowns (8). The Huskies do have two players available with over 100 carries in 2024.

Top North Carolina Players Not Playing in Fenway Bowl

Thanks to the CFN Bowl Game Opt-Out Tracker, we know which players from the Tar Heels won’t be in action in the Fenway Bowl.

• Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina (NFL Draft)
• Garrett Jordan, LS, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Howard Sampson, OT, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Zach Greenberg, iOL, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Andrew Rosinski, OT, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Conner Harrell, QB, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Jordan Louie, RB, North Carolina (transfer portal)
• Eli Sutton, iOL, North Carolina (transfer portal)

While it will be Freddie Kitchens rather than Belichick who coaches the Tar Heels in the Fenway Bowl, there’s still some excitement around the program heading into Saturday’s game. Sadly, that will be tempered by the departure of star running back Hampton, who declared for the NFL Draft in early December and opted out of the Fenway Bowl soon after.

MORE: 2025 NFL Draft Underclassmen Tracker

That deprives college football fans of one final look at one of the most explosive playmakers in the country. Hampton led the ACC in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this fall, increasing his NFL Draft stock exponentially in the process.

Joining Hampton among the North Carolina players not playing in the Fenway Bowl is quarterback Harrell, who appeared in just six games this fall, and several offensive linemen. It’s worth noting that several of the Tar Heels players currently in the transfer portal are set to play on Saturday, including starting linebacker Amare Campbell, who tallied 11 tackles for loss in 2024.

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On Saturday, Carrie Everett will start her journey to become the next Miss America.

The Johnston County native will head to Orlando on Saturday as she prepares to compete in the Miss America Pageant on Jan. 5.

Everett will be joined by Kamryn Howell, who won the 20th Miss Teen North Carolina.

“We are currently stopped in Georgia and on our way to Orlando in the morning,” Everett told WRAL News on Friday. “We just needed a bit of rest.”

In June, Everett won the 87th Miss North Carolina pageant. In an August interview, she told WRAL News that her family struggled with finances and that her journey to be Miss North Carolina was challenging.

She said it wasn’t a journey she wouldn’t have been able to do alone.

“I learned it’s okay to ask for help,” she said. “I have always been an individual who is scared to ask for help because I don’t want to feel the shame of not being able to do things myself.”

While she describes herself as independent, she said she has learned that you can be independent and still as for help.

She told WRAL News she plans to take those lessons into the competition and not only compete but bring Miss America back to North Carolina for the first time since 1962.

“I am feeling ready, willing and like I can totally bring that crown home with the grace of God,” she said. “I hope to make history for North Carolina. I’m ready, y’all.”

The Miss America pageant will take place at the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, with preliminary competitions starting on New Year’s Eve.

The pageant has five areas of competition: interviews, sportswear, evening gowns, on-stage questions and talent.

Everett will perform “The Impossible Dream” from the Broadway musical, “Man of La Mancha,” an adaptation of the 17th-century novel Don Quixote.

“It’s a beautiful piece and tells the story of our lives [and] my family … It will tell the story of my life and how far I’ve come, dreaming the impossible dream to inspire [the] youth of this generation that they can dream so much bigger than they think they can,” she said.

The Miss America pageant will be live-streamed on YouTube and MissAmerica.TV.

LUMBERTON, N.C. — North Carolina is launching a new drone initiative to improve disaster response efforts, particularly in the aftermath of events like Hurricanes Helene and Florence.

The program, supported by a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, will enable faster delivery of emergency supplies and quicker damage assessments in affected areas, the North Carolina Department of Transportation said.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation secured a grant as one of 47 awardees across the country through the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program, an initiative supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Nick Short, the interim director of North Carolina’s Division of Aviation, highlighted the potential of this technology, which includes “drone-in-a-box” systems for remote operations. Autonomous drones can be placed in communities before a storm and then deployed remotely to start collecting images of damage and deliver emergency supplies. These drones can be dispatched rapidly and operate in conditions where traditional methods are hindered by obstacles or damage, speeding up response times dramatically.

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“With the ‘drone in a box,’ we can place a drone with medicine like insulin on the side of a road and then those supplies are there and ready to be deployed right away,” Short said. “We will be able to deploy the drone remotely, so we can begin collecting data and delivering supplies without having to wait on someone to respond by driving into the area. In doing so, we’re also removing the risk of putting people in further danger during a natural disaster.”

The “drone-in-a-box” pilot phase will begin in Lumberton, a city that has faced significant challenges from previous storms, NCDOT said. This approach not only seeks to address current disaster management needs but also to adapt to the increasing frequency and intensity of weather events.

“These storms tend to impact people in historically disadvantaged communities where roads and other infrastructure become inundated faster and for longer periods of time than many other communities,” Short said. “That was true in Lumberton during Hurricane Florence and is one of the main reasons we’re piloting this program there.”

Aviation officials hope to expand on their achievements during Hurricane Helene, where the division collaborated with the N.C. Department of Public Safety, the National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol, according to NCDOT. Together, they utilized drones, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to capture thousands of images of areas too isolated to access by land.

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