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Where Are In-State Prep Stars Thriving? On Gridiron, Answer Begins With UNC
By David Glenn
Every year, on National Signing Day, college football coaches talk about their desire to “put a fence around” their local recruiting territory and the importance of signing as many elite in-state prospects as possible.
In North Carolina, the discussion typically alternates between those years when one of the in-state programs (usually UNC or NC State) signed a particularly impressive number of the highest-rated in-state prospects and those years — and there have been many — when a majority of the most star-studded North Carolina high school prospects cast their lots instead with various out-of-state programs.
According to this year’s 247Sports Composite rankings, for example, the 14 high school seniors in North Carolina who had consensus four-star rankings (out of a possible five) picked the following programs, in alphabetical order: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Michigan (two), NC State (two), Notre Dame (two), Oklahoma, UNC (three) and Virginia Tech.
In summary, that means only five of the top 14 prep stars signed with in-state teams, while nine chose out-of-state programs. That’s not great news for a state whose four ACC teams have captured only one conference championship (Wake Forest in 2006) since way back in 1989.
“(Recruiting well in-state) is what we were able to do last time we were here to be successful,” said UNC coach Mack Brown, whose 1988-97 tenure in Chapel Hill started with a dismal 1-10 season but ended with back-to-back national top-10 campaigns. “And that’s our plan. That’s who we want to be.”
Another way — some would suggest a more accurate and thoughtful way — of looking at recruiting success, in-state or otherwise, is to monitor players’ post-high school career outcomes (e.g., collegiate success, NFL draft status, pro career) rather than simply their recruiting rankings.
After all, what’s really more important to college programs, how many stars a player had next to his name coming out of high school or how well he actually performed while on campus?
Cedric Gray, who was an in-state talent for Carolina. (Photo via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati)
With that in mind, below is the 2023 “All-North Carolina” college football team, which consists of 25 collegiate stars — 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and three on special teams — who came through the North Carolina high school ranks, regardless of whether they played for an in-state or out-of-state college program.
By this standard, which completely ignores recruiting rankings and is based entirely on college-level performance instead, UNC — as well as NC State and Duke, for that matter — fared much better than any out-of-state program in the all-important category of taking in-state prospects and actually helping to turn them into college stars.
2023 “All-North Carolina” College Football Team^
First-Team Offense
- QB: Drake Maye, UNC (2022 All-American; 2x All-ACC; 2-year starter), Charlotte Myers Park
- RB: Omarion Hampton, UNC (All-American; 1st-team All-ACC), Clayton Cleveland
- RB: Will Shipley, Clemson (2022 1st-team All-ACC; 2-year starter), Matthews Weddington
- WR: KC Concepcion, NC State (2nd-team All-ACC), Charlotte Chambers
- WR: Tez Walker*, UNC (3rd-team All-ACC; All-MAC; 2-year starter), West Charlotte
- TE: Bryson Nesbit, UNC (1st-team All-ACC), Charlotte South Mecklenburg
- OT: Delmar Glaze, Maryland (3rd-team All-Big Ten; 3-year starter), Charlotte West Mecklenburg
- OG: D’Mitri Emmanuel*, Florida State (1st-team All-ACC; 5-year starter), Waxhaw Marvin Ridge
- OC: Isaiah Helms*, Appalachian State (1st-team All-Sun Belt, 5-year starter), Lenoir West Caldwell
- OG: Jacob Monk, Duke (2nd-team All-ACC; 5-year starter), Wendell Corinth Holders
- OT: Mike Edwards*, Campbell (FCS All-American; 1st-team All-CAA; 4-year starter), Hope Mills South View
- PK: Joshua Karty, Stanford (All-American; 2x 1st-team All-Pac-12; 3-year starter), Elon Western Alamance
- SP: Tucker Holloway, Virginia Tech (3rd-team All-ACC), High Point Andrews
First-Team Defense
- DE: James Pearce Jr., Tennessee (1st-team All-SEC), Charlotte Chambers
- DT: Aeneas Peebles, Duke (3rd-team All-ACC), Knightdale High
- DT: Myles Murphy, UNC (HM All-ACC; 3-year starter), Greensboro Dudley
- DE: Davin Vann, NC State (HM All-ACC; 2-year starter), Cary High
- LB: Payton Wilson, NC State (All-American; ACC DPOY; 3-year starter), Hillsborough Orange
- LB: Cedric Gray, UNC (All-American; 1st-team All-ACC; 3-year starter), Charlotte Audrey Kell
- LB: Tre Freeman, Duke (2nd-team All-ACC), Northern Durham
- S: Malik Mustapha*, Wake Forest (2nd-team All-ACC; 2-year starter), Matthews Weddington
- S: Brandon Johnson, Duke (HM All-ACC; 2-year starter), Newton-Conover High
- CB: Aydan White, NC State (2x All-ACC; 2-year starter), Asheville Christ School
- CB: Malik Dunlap*, Texas Tech (2x All-Big 12; 2-year starter), Charlotte Harding
- P: Ben Kiernan, UNC (2022 3rd-team All-ACC; 5-year starter; injured 2023), Raleigh Wakefield
^—must have played for North Carolina-based high school(s) to be eligible
*—transfer (started college career at a different university)
Interestingly, 18 of the 25 most decorated North Carolina prep products were those who “stayed home,” meaning they either signed with an in-state college program directly out of high school or they ended up transferring to one. The latter group included UNC wide receiver Tez Walker (Kent State) and Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha (Richmond).
Two more players performed well for an in-state program before doing their best work elsewhere: Texas Tech cornerback Malik Dunlap (NC State) and Florida State guard D’Mitri Emmanuel (Charlotte). Two standout offensive linemen, Appalachian State center Isaiah Helms (Western Carolina) and Campbell tackle Mike Edwards (Wake Forest), transferred from one in-state program to another.
“All-North Carolina” Team
(By 2023 College Program)
- 7 — North Carolina
- 4 — Duke
- 4 — NC State
- 1 — Appalachian State
- 1 — Campbell
- 1 — Clemson
- 1 — Florida State
- 1 — Maryland
- 1 — Stanford
- 1 — Tennessee
- 1 — Texas Tech
- 1 — Virginia Tech
- 1 — Wake Forest
While Brown hasn’t yet been able to get the Tar Heels past the nine-win threshold during his second tenure in Chapel Hill, he clearly has not lost his in-state recruiting touch.
In the 1990s, Brown’s best Carolina players included in-state signees such as wide receiver Bucky Brooks, wide receiver Na Brown, defensive end Greg Ellis, cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock, running back Leon Johnson, defensive end Marcus Jones, running back Natrone Means, linebacker Mike Morton, linebacker Brian Simmons, cornerback Thomas Smith, defensive end Oscar Sturgis, defensive tackle Rick Terry, safety Bracy Walker and cornerback Robert Williams.
Brown also recruited legendary UNC star Julius Peppers to Chapel Hill, although Brown left to take the Texas job during the winter before Peppers arrived on campus.
During his current tenure, Brown has signed arguably the two best NFL quarterback prospects in Carolina history, in both cases after they had committed to prominent out-of-state programs: Sam Howell (who had pledged to Florida State) and Drake Maye (Alabama). Both were in-state prospects from the greater Charlotte area.
Brown said in-state recruiting will be a very high priority for as long as he’s coaching at UNC.
“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,” Brown said, “because the more schools he has to drive by or fly by to get to you, is problematic.
“I want guys where their parents can see them play. 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 signing day results show that neither Brown nor any other coach has succeeded in “putting a fence around North Carolina,” according to at least one important measuring stick, he’s been doing a better job with in-state recruiting than anybody else.
David Glenn (DavidGlennShow.com, @DavidGlennShow) is an award-winning author, broadcaster, editor, entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, writer and university lecturer (now at UNC Wilmington) who has covered sports in North Carolina since 1987.
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