On Saturday, the 2026 FBS season started in Dublin with North Carolina facing TCU at Aviva Stadium. A former Ohio State national champion did a unique thing that has now gone into the record books.

Former Ohio State tight end Jelani Thurman made history for North Carolina in the Week 0 Aer Lingus College Football Classic. On the first play from scrimmage of the 2026 FBS season, Wisconsin transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. found Thurman for a 20-yard completion. 

UNC received the opening kickoff, a touchback, so the catch became the first completed reception of the entire season in FBS. It was also the first official catch of Year 2 under Bill Belichick.

The play came on first-and-10 from the UNC 25 in shotgun. There was 14:34 left in the first quarter. Edwards completed a short-right pass to No. 45 Thurman.

Thurman did not stop there. After a 3-yard run by Benjamin Hall, UNC faced second-and-7 from its own 48. Edwards threw deep over the middle. Thurman made a 35-yard reception to the TCU 17 for another first down. After two catches, Thurman had 55 yards on the opening drive. 

UNC tight ends combined for only 29 receptions, 221 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino rebuilt the room this offseason. Thurman’s 55 yards on one drive already came close to his entire 42-yard receiving total at Ohio State in 2024.

Thurman was targeted again later in the first half, but the pass fell incomplete near the goal line. UNC leaned on him because of the injury report. Jaxxon Warren was listed out with an undisclosed issue, and Jordan Washington was listed as doubtful. 

With those two unavailable, Thurman became the clear pass-game tight end on the first series. The 20-yard grab and the 35-yard follow-up showed what UNC wanted from the position. Over the course of the game, Thurman had four receptions for 94 yards in UNC’s 15-10 win over TCU.

Jelani Thurman’s journey from Ohio State champion to UNC starter

Thurman arrived at Ohio State as a 2023 four-star recruit from Georgia. He chose the Buckeyes over Alabama, Auburn, and Michigan State. During his time at Columbus, Thurman became the national champion in 2024.

In his first season with Ohio State, he played five games and completed two catches for 18 yards. In 2024, he played 16 games, caught four passes for 42 yards, and scored one touchdown. During his last season, he played all 14 games and had seven catches for 84 yards and one score. 

He worked behind Gee Scott Jr., Will Kacmarek and Purdue transfer Max Klare. Klare led the Buckeye tight ends in 2025. Reporting on the exit pointed to playing time and a larger role. 

Ohio State lost the Cotton Bowl to Miami 24-14 on Dec 31, 2025. Minutes after the final whistle, Thurman’s representative at Rosenhaus Sports told On3’s Hayes Fawcett that he planned to enter the portal. 

The window opened Jan 2, 2026, and he committed to North Carolina. 247Sports reported an Instagram post in a UNC uniform with the caption “Fully committed.” ESPN listed him as signed on January 11, 2026. 

His first career touchdown came against Indiana on November 23, 2024, and put Ohio State up 28-7. Against Penn State in November 2024, he made a 19-yard catch on fourth-and-1. Ryan Day later said, “It was like a bar of soap… he got about three catches and three drops all on one play. I lost about a week of my life on that play.” 

In 2025 against Grambling, he had three catches, 44 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz also hit him for a 4-yard score in that 63-0 game. Thurman was a 2023 and 2024 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2024.

Earlier, Day praised Thurman’s competitiveness and length. He said an Ohio State tight end must “run routes like a receiver, block like an offensive lineman.” He also said they were coaching him “really, really hard” and that his attention to detail had improved.

Petrino liked what he saw this spring. “Jelani (Thurman) did a real nice job… We can line up in two tight end formations with them, we can split out with them.” Petrino also said the new tight-end group “had a very, very good spring” and gave UNC “really good weapons.”