Tag: unc football recruiting

UNC football’s top Class of 2025 recruit signs Letter of Intent on Wednesday

UNC officially landed its quarterback of the future on Wednesday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels continue to win on the football recruiting trail, particularly given their recent hire of Bill Belichick as head football coach.

UNC’s greatest victory, so far, was getting 4-star quarterback Bryce Baker to re-assure his commitment on Saturday.

Baker, North Carolina’s top recruit in the 2025 class, further solidified his commitment when he joined Belichick at halftime of the UNC-La Salle basketball game.

On Wednesday, December 18, Baker officially locked himself into Chapel Hill.

In a small ceremony at East Forsyth (NC) High School, where Baker starred as the Eagles’ starting quarterback over the past two seasons, Baker signed his Letter of Intent in front of coaches, teammates and family.

Baker threw for 6.605 yards, 79 touchdowns and just eight interceptions at East Forsyth, leading his team to four state playoff victories. Baker also showcased his abilities as a dual-threat QB, running for 536 yards and nine more scores on the ground.

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With the Tar Heels uncertain about their 2025 starting quarterback, Baker has a golden shot to start from Day One. He’ll be competing with at least Max Johnson, the former Texas A&M and LSU transfer, who broke his leg in North Carolina’s 2023 opener at Minnesota.

Baker has a lot to be excited about as UNC’s likely quarterback of the future. His offensive line already has two key pieces, with 2024 starters Aidan Banfield and Austin Blaske recently withdrawing from the transfer portal, plus he now has a former SEC tight end in Connor Cox to catch passes.

Don’t be surprised to see others follow in Baker’s footsteps, whether withdrawing from the transfer portal or flipping their commitments to the Tar Heels.

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UNC football’s highest remaining Class of 2025 recruit re-assures his commitment

A phone call with Bill Belichick landed the UNC football team another recruiting commitment.

If you’re a high school or college football player and you get a call from Bill Belichick, pick up the phone.

On Sunday, December 15, UNC football recruiting target Austin Alexander did exactly that.

Alexander, a 4-star defensive end from Burlington, Ky. who will graduate from Cooper High School soon and join North Carolina for the Fenway Bowl, reassured his commitment to UNC after a Sunday conversation with Belichick.

“He (Belichick) really spoke more about, ‘This is how we will use you coming in,’” Austin’s dad, Durran Alexander, told Cincinnati’s WCPO 9 ABC News. “How we will use your skills.”

In the same story, the elder Alexander said it’s a blessing his son will get to play for Belichick.

After the Tar Heels fired Mack Brown in late November, their future recruiting classes faced uncertainty. 2026 4-star edge rusher Zavion Griffin-Haynes de-committed, while 4-star quarterback Bryce Baker – who remained committed – said he was going to look at other programs.

Getting a re-assurance from Alexander is yet another Tar Heels recruiting victory. With Desmond Evans out of eligibility and Kaimon Rucker recently declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, Alexander has a clear spot to starting from Day One.

Alexander totaled 245 tackles, 42.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss in his high school career, which ended in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association 5A State Championship on Dec. 7. In short, Alexander produces and will bring his motor to a UNC unit that drastically improved in 2024.

Will Haynes join Alexander in pledging his loyalty to North Carolina? Will any other former Tar Heel targets – and uncommitted guys – select Chapel Hill as their college football destination?

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Alabama wide receiver set to visit UNC football this week

Which Alabama football player is set for a visit with UNC this week?

In its first week under new head coach Bill Belichick, the UNC football program is already starting to capture attention from some of the country’s top transfer portal players.

North Carolina landed a commitment from Holy Cross center Christo Kelly on Monday, December 16. Four days earlier, former 5-star Texas A&M defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy announced his intention to visit Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels will get a visit this week from Alabama transfer Caleb Odom, who was a Top-75 player in the 2024 recruiting class.

Odom didn’t play much for the Crimson Tide (9-3, 5-3) in 12 regular-season games during 2024, catching just seven passes for 65 yards. He was stuck deep down a depth chart that included Ryan Williams, arguably the best freshman wide receiver in the country.

With Gavin Blackwell and Kobe Paysour in the transfer portal, Nate McCollum exhausting his eligibility and J.J. Jones doing the same, UNC suddenly needs a bunch of help at wide receiver.

Odom played his high school football at Carrollton (Ga.) High School, catching 113 passes for 1,925 yards and 26 touchdowns. Odom’s best season came during junior year, when he set career-high with 1,121 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

We don’t know exactly when Odom will visit North Carolina, but he plans to sometime the week before Christmas. He is the first Alabama player to show interest in UNC – and just the second SEC player.

Odom isn’t the only high-profile target we expect to visit the Tar Heels. Players want to come play for Belichick, the greatest football coach of all-time.

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Amare Campbell returning to UNC football proves the Belichick effect is real

Amare Campbell’s return wasn’t the only big roster news for the UNC football last week.

Saturday, December 14 was a big day for the UNC football program – and continued to solidify why new head coach Bill Belichick is the real deal.

On Saturday, North Carolina starting middle linebacker Amare Campbell withdrew his name from the transfer portal. For a position the Tar Heels entered the season unsure about, given Cedric Gray’s departure to the NFL (he’s now a Tennessee Titan), they witnessed a star develop in Campbell,

Through 12 regular season games, Cambpell tied for a UNC-best 6.5 sacks,  recorded 10.5 tackles for loss (second-highest), 72 total tackles, four quarterback hurries.

Campbell entered the portal when North Carolina dragged its feet on initially hiring Belichick, but withdrew once Bill was the guy.

Campbell’s withdrawal was the Tar Heels’ greatest roster move so far after Belichick’s hire, but it was just one of four moves.

4-star quarterback Bryce Baker officially signed with UNC, while 2024 starting offensive linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield withdrew themselves from the transfer portal.

What’s particularly encouraging about these recent decisions: despite Belichick never previously coaching at the college level, players trust his longtime success in the NFL.

Belichick led the New England Patriots to Six Super Bowl titles and several additional AFC East Championships, so he knows a thing of two about winning consistently.

North Carolina has its quarterback of the future and two linemen to protect him. There’s no telling what the Tar Heels’ defense will do, but Campbell’s return solidifies a unit looking for consistency. If you watch NFL religiously every Sunday like myself, you know that Belichick had some pretty good defenses in New England.

There’s bound to be several additional moves for UNC: both in the transfer portal and with highly-touted, high school recruits.

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UNC football lands first transfer portal commitment under Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick’s first transfer portal commitment includes some offensive line help.

With their recent hiring of Bill Belichick as head football coach, the North Carolina Tar Heels are expected to attract some of the transfer portal‘s top available talent.

On Monday, December 16, one of the portal’s top FCS players committed to play his final year of college football in Chapel Hill.

Christo Kelly, a former Holy Cross team captain who started 22 games at center for the Crusaders, announced his commitment to UNC via his X account.

In those 22 starts, during which Holy Cross won a fifth-consecutive Patriot League title and made the FCS playoffs, Kelly played 778 snaps.

Kelly immediately fits into North Carolina’s roster. He can either complement Austin Blaske at center, start in place of the graduating Willie Lampkin or go wherever Belichick puts him.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Belichick, it’s that he gets the most out of his players. Just look what he did in his 24 years coaching the New England Patriots, when the roster didn’t carry a bunch of big-name stars, but wins still came aplenty.

Michael Lombardi, UNC’s new general manager, praised Kelly’s commitment.

“We’ve got to get offensive and defensive linemen,” new UNC GM Michael Lombardi told InsideCarolina’s Don Callahan. “At the end of the day, we’re going to build a football team the same way we’ve always built a football team — inside out. Those are the pillars that we’re going to start, stress and build on. That’s the first action that we have to take. It’s not about adding players. It’s about building the team.”

The Tar Heels dealt with plenty of injuries along their offensive line in the 2024 regular season, with its constant rotation a reason Jacolby Criswell kept running for his life.

With Kelly’s commitment part of a suddenly-deep offensive line, North Carolina will be better suited come injuries in 2025.

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UNC football offers Marshall starting cornerback in transfer portal

Can UNC land a transfer portal commitment from this talented cornerback?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are infamously known for having one of the worst defenses in college football.

UNC’s defense improved slightly through 12 regular-season games under Geoff Collins, generating a significant increase in pressure, but continuing to allow eye-popping yardage totals.

With North Carolina losing one of its starters – and best defensive players – to graduation next year, it needs to quickly replenish.

The Tar Heels took a step towards filling that starting hole by offering Marshall University redshirt sophomore cornerback Jacobie Henderson, a North Carolina native from Charlotte, who moved into a starting role for the Thundering Herd in 2024.

According to Henderson’s 247Sports recruiting profile, he was the Class of 2022’s 14th-ranked player in South Carolina. Henderson played his high school ball at Catawba Ridge High School in Fort Mill, SC.

Henderson helped Marshall to a 10-3 (7-1) record this season, its first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship and a Sun Belt East Division Title. The Thundering Herd will face 19th-ranked Army, in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 9:15 p.m. ET.

Through 12 regular season games and one conference championship, Henderson has two interceptions and 10 pass breakups (both second-most on Marshall), 50 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

If UNC is able to land Henderson, he’ll likely start alongside junior Marcus Allen at cornerback. Alijah Huzzie, an electric punt returner who is arguably the Tar Heels’ top secondary player, is a senior and will graduate in May.

Looking at the rest of North Carolina’s secondary depth chart, it will return five cornerbacks and three safeties. A team can never have too many secondary pieces, so a commitment from Henderson would a big get.

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UNC football could be getting offensive line reinforcement with visit from Tulsa transfer

A mid-December visit could give the UNC football team a much-needed reinforcement

The transfer portal has not been kind to the UNC football team in its early stages, snatching up several starters and a couple key reserves.

North Carolina’s greatest losses are star linebacker Amare Campbell, who emerged as a reliable starter and replacement for now-Tennessee Titan Cedric Gray, quarterback Conner Harrell and defensive lineman Travis Shaw.

The Tar Heels will also be thin at offensive line in 2025, a position they can’t afford to lose talent at, but those losses could be minimized after an upcoming visit.

Walter Young Bear, an offensive lineman who spent his first four seasons at Tulsa, is planning to visit UNC on Wednesday, December 18. According to Tar Heel Illustrated’s Bryant Baucom, Bear will then make a decision on Monday, Dec. 23.

North Carolina current has six offensive lineman in the transfer portal, including three 2024 starters in center Austin Blaske, left guard Aidan Banfield and left tackle Howard Sampson.

The Tar Heels also say bye to backup center Zach Greenberg, freshman Andrew Rosinski and junior Eli Sutton, the latter two of whom aren’t offically listed on the depth chart.

If you thought UNC’s offensive line was thin, it’ll also say goodbye to graduate students Jakiah Leftwich, seniors Willie Lampkin and Jonathan Adorno. These departures will force North Carolina to replace both its left tackles, both centers, two right guards and one left guard.

If the Tar Heels land Young, though, they’re getting an experienced offensive lineman with 34 appearances under his belt. Young’s official Tulsa bio lists him starting two 2023 games at left guard, but I’m sure UNC coaches will have him play anywhere he produces.

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One of UNC’s top 2025 football commits has four touchdowns in Friday Night blowout

UNC’s likely quarterback of the future shined under the Friday Night Lights yesterday, leading his team to a massive win with four touchdown passes.

Could Class of 2025, 4-star quarterback commit Bryce Baker be exactly what the North Carolina Tar Heels need to turn their football program around?

If we’re pointing to Baker’s most recent game, the answer is a resounding yes.

Baker, one of UNC’s three in-state commits in the Class of 2025, led the East Forsyth Eagles to a resounding, 49-6 blowout victory over rival Glenn High School on Friday night.

In the win, Baker completed 16-of-21 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. He helped keep East Forsyth (9-0, 6-0), ranked ninth amongst ALL North Carolina high school football team, undefeated and atop the Central Piedmont 4A conference.

Baker’s talent and efficiency is on full display this season alone, as he’s completed 148-of-190 passes for 2,392 yards and 28 touchdowns, with just two interceptions. Baker averages 265.8 yards per game, 16.4 yards per completion and a near-perfect passer rating of 154.3.

Through not even two full varsity seasons, Baker has 5,474 passing yards and 67 touchdowns.

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Baker is an integral part of what’s currently a 12-man, 2025 recruiting class for North Carolina. He’s one of the Tar Heels’ two 4-star commits, along with Gainesville, Ga.-based offensive tackle Alex Payne, who’ll be protecting Baker in Chapel Hill.

With Jacolby Criswell running out of eligibility after this season, plus no guarantee Max Johnson will be ready to start after the broken leg he suffered in Week 1, UNC could be thin at quarterback in 2025.

That’s where Baker and his proven talent come into the picture. I expect he’ll push Conner Harrell for the starting gig next season. If Johnson returns from his broken leg, North Carolina will have yet another exciting quarterback competition on its hands.

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Do latest UNC football de-commitments point to signs of trouble in 2025 recruiting class?

Do the UNC football team’s two recent de-commitments spell an underlying issue on the recruiting trail?

Losing consecutive games, particularly when that streak is seemingly never-ending, has consequences that extend far beyond the football field.

For the North Carolina Tar Heels, those consequences are recently highlighted on the recruiting trail.

Earlier on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 4-star tight end Marshall Pritchett flipped his commitment from UNC (3-4, 0-3) to Alabama. This followed a Monday de-commitment from another fellow tight end, as Logan Farrell announced he’ll be playing football for Illinois instead.

North Carolina will already be thin at tight end in 2025, as both Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver will run out of eligibility. This leaves the Tar Heels with just Jake Johnson, who followed his brother Max from Texas A&M in the offseason, at tight end.

Losing two tight ends in the span of 24 hours is concerning, but it’s not just those de-commitments concerning us. With how bad UNC is playing this year, I wouldn’t be shocked to see more commits follow suit, leaving its roster potentially very thin next fall.

The good news for North Carolina (we know, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot) is that it still has 12 commitments in the Class of 2025, headlined by in-state, 4-star quarterback Bryce Baker and 4-star offensive tackle Alex Payne. Three of the Tar Heels’ commits (Baker, Kamden Laudenslanger and Trey Blue) announced their decisions last year), while their most recent commitment came from in-state running back Demon June on August 16.

UNC started 3-0 with consecutive wins over Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central, then got exposed in a blowout loss to James Madison. With succeeding losses to Duke, Pitt and Georgia Tech, North Carolina’s hopes for bowl eligibility continue to dimmer.

Here’s to hoping the Tar Heels land several additional Class of 2025 commitments – and those already committed stay put.

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UNC football’s top 2026 recruiting target poses with fellow program legend

Kendre Harrison, UNC’s top 2026 football recruiting target, got his picture taken alongside a North Carolina football legend during UNC-Pitt.

The North Carolina Tar Heels can recruit all the high-end football talent they want, but unless there’s drastic changes within the program, we’ll experience the same, disappointing results year-after-year.

Landing commitments from big-time recruits has to pay off eventually though, right?

UNC already has 14 commitments in the Class of 2025, including in-state 4-star quarterback Bryce Baker, who’ll compete with Conner Harrell for the starting gig in 2025.

North Carolina is already looking ahead to its 2026 recruiting class, too, with its highest priority 5-star tight end Kendre Harrison. According to 247Sports, Harrison’s the top-ranked tight end, third-ranked player in North Carolina and 17th-ranked player nationally.

The Tar Heels are throwing every recruiting trick they have at Harrison, with hopes his commitment can spurn a chain reaction.

UNC’s latest recruiting effort involved bringing in Harrison for Saturday’s UNC-Pitt game. Not only was Harrison in attendance at Kenan Stadium, but he was pictured alongside an all-time program great in Julius Peppers.

Peppers was going to be in Chapel Hill Saturday regardless, as he was being honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Peppers is second-all time in North Carolina history with 30.5 sacks, plus fourth all-time in NFL history with 159.5 sacks.

Harrison, also an in-state standout, is in his third season at Reidsville High School. Harrison broke out last year, catching 62 passes for 940 yards and 16 touchdowns, while also helping the Rams’ basketball team to a state championship.

While the Tar Heels’ third-consecutive loss probably wasn’t appealing to Harrison, getting his picture taken alongside an all-time UNC athlete made his trip to Chapel Hill worthwhile.

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