One year ago, Mack Brown stood at a podium in the Kenan Football Center and preached about the importance of recruiting the state of North Carolina.

“You’ve got to win at home in recruiting before you go out of state,” Brown said at the time. “Because if the locals won’t come, why would an out-of-state guy that’s really good want to come?”

Now, the Hall of Fame head coach can back up those words.

In his first full recruiting class after returning as the Tar Heels’ head coach, Brown and his staff have made good to that promise and locked down North Carolina in recruiting.

During early signing period, UNC signed 24 total recruits and 12 of the top 30 players from North Carolina. The highlight of the class is five-star defensive end Desmond Evans from Lee County High School in Sanford, just a 50 minute drive down south from Chapel Hill.

UNC’s top four recruits in the class — Evans, defensive linemen Myles Murphy and Kendrick Bigley-Jones, and defensive back Ja’Qurious Conley — all hail from North Carolina.

The Tar Heels were heavy favorites for five-star linebacker Trenton Thompson, the top player in the state, but a late offer from Clemson pushed Thompson to commit to the Tigers last week.

It helped Brown’s recruiting efforts that his top signee from last year — quarterback Sam Howell — had one of the best freshman seasons in college football history. A native of Charlotte, Howell opened his UNC career in his hometown with a win over South Carolina in the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium.

From there, Howell threw for over 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns and led the Tar Heels back to a bowl game for the first time since 2016. Just last week, Howell was back in Charlotte to accept the ACC Rookie of the Year award.

Brown said Howell’s success has helped Carolina’s recruiting efforts.

“When a Sam Howell comes and he’s one of the top players in the state and he’s successful,” Brown said during an interview with ESPNU, “it gives other young guys a chance to follow him because he did okay.”

In addition to an impact player like Evans, UNC filled out several key needs in its 2020 recruiting class.

Howell is firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, but backup Jace Ruder has been out for most of the season with an injury. Carolina signed four-star dual-threat quarterback Jacolby Criswell — hailing from Morrilton, Arkansas — and he will compete for the backup job immediately.

In Carolina’s up-tempo offense, many snaps are available for receivers. As such, the Tar Heels secured signatures from four wide receivers  — four-star Josh Downs, and three-stars Ray Rose, Tylee Craft, and Stephen Gosnell — in addition to massive 6-foot-8 tight end Jefferson Boaz.

Only two players committed to Carolina remain unsigned: defensive tackle Clyde Pinder Jr. and running back Elijah Burris.

With 24 players signed and Pinder and Burris still unsigned, it’s likely that UNC has finished up its 2020 recruiting class on the first day of the early signing period. With this class wrapped up, Brown and his staff can turn their attention to the 2021 class and building for the future of Carolina football.

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