Wednesday marked National Signing Day for high school football recruits across the nation. It’s their first chance to put ink to paper and finalize their recruitment. For schools, it finally gives coaches and administrators a chance to officially discuss and welcome the incoming players.
UNC head coach Mack Brown has signed what is perhaps the best recruiting class in program history, one which includes two five-star prospects and ranks No. 1 in the ACC and No. 8 in the nation, behind only superpowers such as Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia. Before this year, Carolina had only signed five five-star recruits since 1999.
Here’s a look at some of the players who signed their National Letters of Intent Wednesday:
DL Travis Shaw (Greensboro, N.C.)
Image via Travis Shaw/Instagram
Ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the country by 247 Sports, Shaw is the crown jewel of the 2022 Carolina class. He was also a key member of Grimsley High School’s state championship team in the spring of 2021. Shaw committed to UNC in August, choosing the Tar Heels over offers from Clemson and Georgia. 247 Sports describes Shaw as having “off the charts” upside, and projects him as a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
“Ever since I committed, I’ve just been ready to get on campus,” Shaw said after signing his National Letter of Intent. “Ready to get the ball rolling, ready to prove all my doubters wrong. Ready to just turn the whole football program around!”
Brown described Shaw as “a great player, a leader and a force along the defensive line.”
Shaw confirmed he will be enrolling at UNC “sometime in the next 2-3 weeks,” meaning he will be able to practice with the team for several months before the official beginning of the 2022 season.
OL Zach Rice (Lynchburg, VA)
Rice attended UNC’s win over Virginia in September. (Image via 247 Sports)
The second five-star prospect in Carolina’s recruiting class, Rice committed to Brown and the Tar Heels in October over offers from Virginia, Alabama and Notre Dame. After announcing his decision, Rice declared, “I will be a program-changer!” Rice was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for the state of Virginia after the 2021 season. Like Shaw, 247 Sports projects Rice as a multi-year starter at Carolina and a potential first-round pick.
While playing for Liberty Christian Academy, Rice became known for his “pancake blocks,” in which he flattened his assigned defender. Unofficially, Rice recorded 157 such blocks during the 2021 season. In welcoming his new signee to the program, Brown called Rice the “King of Pancakes,” while also commending his “great combination of size, athleticism and work ethic.”
Rice will join a UNC offensive line in need of some help, one which allowed an ACC-worst 45 sacks this season.
WR Andre Greene, Jr. (Richmond, VA)
image via On3
One of the later additions to the recruiting class, Greene committed to Carolina in November over offers from Clemson and Georgia. He is the highest-rated receiver in UNC’s class. And at six-foot-three, he immediately becomes one of the tallest receivers on the Tar Heel depth chart. One of several Class of 2022 members from Virginia, Greene’s playmaking ability will provide relief for a UNC receiver room which was decimated by injuries and transfers in 2021. Emery Simmons, Khafre Brown and Beau Corrales have all announced their decisions to enter the transfer portal since the beginning of the season.
Along with Shaw and Rice, Greene is the third member of the UNC recruiting class rated in the nation’s top 100 overall players by 247 Sports. Greene checks in at No. 65, as the No. 8 wide receiver.
Brown said Greene is a “big-time addition to our wide receiver room,” who is “highly skilled and a natural leader.”
RB Omarion Hampton (Clayton, N.C.)
Image via Omarion Hampton/Instagram
If you followed high school football in North Carolina this season, it was hard to miss Omarion Hampton. After committing to UNC in July, Hampton put together an unforgettable senior season, scoring 42 total touchdowns and rushing for almost 2,000 yards for Cleveland High School. For his efforts, Hampton was named both the Gatorade Player of the Year for North Carolina and the state’s Mr. Football.
At the time of his commitment, Hampton said of UNC, “I really looked at everything they had, so I knew it would be a good fit. And it’s right down the road.”
Hampton is rated as the No. 3 overall player in North Carolina and the No. 11 running back nationwide. Brown described Hampton as an “impressive, physical runner who is also an academic all-conference guy.”
LB Sebastian Cheeks (Evanston, IL)
Image via Chicago Sun-Times
A four-star linebacker prospect from just outside Chicago, Cheeks committed to Carolina in July over offers from several midwestern schools, such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. He is the only UNC football commit in the class from the state of Illinois. 247 Sports calls Cheeks an “explosive, athletic linebacker,” whose “speed off the snap allows him to shoot gaps.”
In addition to suiting up for Carolina soon, Cheeks will also participate in the 2022 All-American Bowl, to be played in San Antonio in January. He is rated as the No. 12 linebacker in the country.
After Cheeks’ signing, Brown called him “an All-American both athletically and academically.”
S Will Hardy (Norcross, GA)
Image via 247 Sports
Less than 48 hours before National Signing Day, Hardy announced his intention to come to Carolina, reversing his previous commitment to Virginia. After Cavaliers head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s resignation from the program, Hardy re-opened his recruitment and flipped to Brown and the Tar Heels.
“Due to the events of the past two weeks, I have reconsidered my college decision,” Hardy said in an announcement on Twitter. “I am so grateful to be in this position and excited for what the future holds.”
Currently, Hardy is the only member of the Class of 2022 who flipped from another school, though that could certainly change before the start of the 2022 season.
247 Sports rates Hardy as a three-star prospect. He has experience both at safety and wide receiver, though Brown gave the impression he will be used only on defense.
UNC Football Class of 2022
DL Travis Shaw, OL Zach Rice, WR Andre Greene, Jr., RB George Pettaway, RB Omarion Hampton, LB Sebastian Cheeks, WR Tychaun “Doc” Chapman, DE Malaki Hamrick, CB Marcus Allen, DE Bryson Jennings, S Will Hardy, QB Conner Harrell, OL Justin Kanyuk, CB Tayon Holloway, DE Beau Atkinson, OL Trevyon Greene, LB Deuce Caldwell
Featured image via Sports Illustrated
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