North Carolina hopes to see Jared Cohen return to program

North Carolina expects to have offensive guard Jared Cohen back on the roster by January or potentially earlier, offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic said Tuesday.

"I'm in contact with him and his family and they're great people,” Kapilovic said after a Tar Heels practice, according to Greg Barnes of Scout. "They're just trying to work through some things. Obviously, each day that goes by, he won't be here in the fall, but the plans are if he's not here in the fall, then he'll be with us in January."

The program announced earlier this month that Cohen had taken an indefinite personal leave of absence from the team.

He played in all 13 games with the Tar Heels in his true freshman season in 2014, starting against Clemson and East Carolina.

Should Cohen elect not to take classes this fall he could still use the NCAA's missed term exception to maintain eligibility.

"We talked about 'hey, just taking a couple of classes, keep yourself mentally sharp,'" Kapilovic said of conversations he had with Cohen. "His parents have talked about getting a job, and again, just working through the issues. Hopefully he'll be back."