Mack Brown has the Tar Heels back among the big boys in recruiting. When Brown returned to Chapel Hill for his second stint, he vowed to bring back the kind of recruiting success he had rebuilding the Tar Heels into a top 10 program before he departed for Texas.
Despite a late start for the high school class of 2019, Brown managed to sign some quality players, none bigger than Sam Howell. His strategy was the same as before, cornering the best talent in North Carolina and filling the class with outstanding out of state recruits.
When the early signing date for the high school class of 2020 arrived, Brown added quantity to quality and got a huge splash nationally, more like a powerful wave. Carolina’s class was ranked No. 17, second in the ACC to No. 1 Clemson – the standard that Brown and the Tar Heels are chasing.
Of the Power Five conferences, the ACC didn’t do itself any favors with only eight schools in the top 50. Besides Clemson and Carolina, Miami reeled in the No. 19 class nationally, Florida State 23rd, Georgia Tech 24th, Louisville 29th, NC State 41st and Pitt 43rd.
Noticeably absent among the other six ACC football members are Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke. So UNC coming off a 6-6 regular season and with a new coaching staff, signing the second-best class in the league says a lot about Brown and his assistants.
Carolina’s incoming class has nine players who will enroll early in January, go through off-season strength and conditioning and fully participate in spring practice. This is a staple of the other big boy leagues, so Brown is keeping pace there, too.
There are size and speed in tight ends and wide receivers, interior linemen on both sides of the ball and at least one highly rated QB to back up Howell and RB to fill that stable. Thus, it sure looks like the Tar Heels are positioned to be the 2020 Coastal Division favorites.
Still, the SEC is the undisputed recruiting winner with 11 members among the top 40 classes, including No. 2 Alabama and six others in the top 10. The Big Ten has 12 top 50 classes led by Ohio State and Michigan. Pac 12 has nine schools in the top 50 in the Big 12 only seven.
As a Hall of Famer with the most wins among active coaches, Brown’s cache says a lot. UNC hasn’t had such a haul since he left.
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