Head coach Mack Brown and the UNC football team welcomed 18 new players to the Tar Heels roster as part of Wednesday’s early signing period festivities.
The talented class is heavy on in-state recruits and still among the best in the country, showing that Brown’s program-building plan is working just like he wants it to.
According to composite rankings compiled by 24/7Sports — which take into account rankings from multiple scouting services — the Tar Heels boast the 14th-ranked class in the nation for 2021 and the No. 3 class in the ACC behind Clemson and Miami.
Having just 18 commitments likely kept UNC down a few spots in the rankings, as every team ahead of the Tar Heels — with the exception of Clemson and Oklahoma–has more players in its incoming class.
What’s even more impressive is that Brown was able to keep the top home-grown talent, as 15 of the 18 commitments hail from North Carolina.
From the moment he returned as head coach in Chapel Hill, Brown has talked about trying to build a wall around the state. It worked in the 1990’s during Brown’s first tenure and there’s no reason to think it can’t happen again all these years later.
“It’s what we were able to do last time we were here to be successful,” Brown said. “And that’s our plan. That’s who we want to be. And I’ve always felt like, especially if you’re going by the rules, which we are, it’s easier to get a guy close to home than it is all the way across the country because the more schools he has to drive by or fly by to get to you, is problematic.”
The headliner of this year’s class is 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive end Keeshawn Silver, a five-star recruit out of Rocky Mount who chose the Tar Heels over SEC powerhouses like Alabama, Georgia, Florida and LSU.
Silver — who also plans to walk-on to the UNC basketball team — said the message the Tar Heel staff sold him on was the best in North Carolina play for Carolina.
That same message also likely went a long way with incoming four-star quarterback Drake Maye, a Charlotte native who was originally committed to Alabama before changing his mind.
Maye is the son of former UNC quarterback Mark Maye and the younger brother of UNC basketball national champion Luke Maye, a family connection representative of what Brown is looking for when he recruits within the state.
“I want guys where their parents can see them play,” Brown said. “I want guys where their friends can see them play, their high school coaches can see them play. And then I’d love for guys to play on our team, by and large, that are going to live in that area when they get through because it’s easier for them to get jobs.”
While this year’s Tar Heel team has had a great year and is on the verge of the program’s first major bowl game since 1950, there’s still plenty of inexperience lining the roster.
Not only will they have an extra year to develop for next season, this incoming class has enough talent to provide UNC with the kind of elite depth Brown has been seeking. Should the Tar Heels go on to reach greater heights in the next couple of years, the Class of 2021 could be viewed as a major turning point.
For what it’s worth, Brown is already extremely impressed with what he’s seen from the newcomers.
“The confidence that they come in with, the closeness that they come with, is something that I’ve never seen in a recruiting class before,” Brown said. “Maybe because so many of them are from in-state, they’ve played against each other, they’ve gone to camps in the state.
“And it may be because of the situation we’re in where they had to spend a lot of time together on FaceTime and Zoom that they wouldn’t have spent before,” the coach added. “But I’ve never seen a group this close.”
The full breakdown of recruits for UNC Football’s Class of 2021 can be found here.
Photo via ACC Media
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