Last week, four-star offensive lineman Alex Payne committed to North Carolina. He is now one of the foundational pieces for the Tar Heels and their 2025 recruiting class.
A 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive tackle from Gainesville, Georgia, Payne is the No. 233 player in the nation in the ESPN 300. He had an offer list that included Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and Virginia Tech among others.
Payne spoke with USA TODAY High School Sports about his commitment to North Carolina and what stood out to make the Tar Heels special in his recruitment. He said his recruitment is shut down with no other visits planned. He is fully committed to North Carolina and head coach Mack Brown.
“When we visited this last time I got to spend more time with the coaches and the new assistant offensive line coach (Kyle Fuller). Everything lined up for me and it just felt right being there,” Payne told USA TODAY High School Sports.
“I had no intention of feeling so strongly about it originally … it was planned to be just a ‘Junior Day’ visit and then I would go to the next few visits I had lined up already. But the feeling of North Carolina being my place was just really strong… it’s hard to put into words. After having a long talk with coach Brown and the other coaches everything just felt right.”
North Carolina did a good job of getting in on Payne from the get-go and making him a priority. This included his first visit to Chapel Hill, which was for a summer camp.
“From the very first visit, the staff was top-notch!” Payne said.
“They greeted me like we had known each other for years and they were my biggest fan. That stayed consistent with that every time I visited. That was a plus.”