Top-5 RB transfer who just visited Syracuse football sets visit to Bill Belichick, UNC

Earlier this week, Penn transfer running back Malachi Hosley, who is in the portal, took an official visit to Syracuse football, according to his X page.

But he's got other visits coming up, including one to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school North Carolina, which is the talk of college football in recent days after hiring legendary NFL boss Bill Belichick as the next head coach of the Tar Heels.

A possible recruiting battle between, among others, Orange first-year head coach Fran Brown and Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots? Fun.

Brian Dohn, a national analyst with 247Sports, wrote in a post on X that the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Hosley, a sophomore from Georgia, "is eager for his first discussion with UNC coach Bill Belichick ...it will come because the Tar Heels are on the list of schools he set OVs to."

Syracuse football could find itself in future recruiting wars with the legendary Bill Belichick.

In the 2024 season, as Ivy League member Penn went 4-6 overall, Hosley carried the ball 191 times for 1,192 yards and nine scores on the ground. As a member of the 2023 recruiting class, he was a three-star prospect who shined for Northside High School in Warner Robins, Ga.

Hosley said via his X account that he officially entered the transfer portal on December 9. Since that time, according to his X page, Hosley has landed scholarship offers from schools including the 'Cuse, Houston, JMU, Virginia, Cincinnati, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, South Florida, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Besides the official visits to Syracuse football and North Carolina, Hosley said on X that he's eyeing upcoming trips to suitors such as Georgia Tech, Cincinnati and Virginia. Per media reports, it also appears he will take an official visit to Virginia Tech.

When I wrote this column on Thursday night, in its national transfer rankings, 247Sports placed Hosley as three stars, No. 89 overall and No. 5 at running back. Over at On3, he checked in as three stars, No. 186 nationally and No. 11 at running back.

In terms of the Orange's running back room for the 2025 season, it wouldn't surprise me if All-ACC performer LeQuint Allen Jr., a junior, doesn't return to the Hill for another year. Other running backs on the team's 2024 roster have included redshirt junior Will Nixon, who unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury in October, along with freshmen Yasin Willis, Jaden Hart and Malachi James.

The Syracuse football 2025 class, which features 34 signed commits, includes three-star running back Malachi Coleman out of William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Va.