Football Welcomes Third Straight Top-15 Signing Class

CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina football program signed 17 newcomers, including eight early enrollees, on Wednesday as part of National Signing Day. Currently ranked as the No. 8 class in the country, Carolina's group includes two five stars, nine four stars and six three stars according to the 247Sports Composite. The 17-man class is the second-smallest of the Top 10 teams and its 91.70 per player average rating on the Composite ranks sixth nationally. The well-rounded class covers all position groups except tight end and is split evenly by sides of the ball with eight members playing offense and nine on defense. The group represents seven states including seven players from Virginia, four from North Carolina, two from Georgia and one each from Alabama, Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

   Behind Carolina's recruiting philosophy, which focuses on the region from Virginia to Atlanta, the Tar Heels signed 14 of its 17 players from that footprint. The Heels took advantage of a talented group of players in Virginia, signing five of the state's top eight players and seven of the top 18, including the state's top player in five star OL Zach Rice. Carolina also secured its four in-state targets, all ranked in the top eight in North Carolina, including the state's top player in five star DL Travis Shaw.

With the signings of Rice and Shaw, Carolina has landed five of the program's 10 highest-rated recruits all time over the last three classes. That pair joins five stars Desmond Evans, Tony Grimes and Keeshawn Silver.

   In addition to Rice, Carolina went into Virginia and snagged four stars WR Andre Greene Jr., RB George Pettaway, WR Doc Chapman, and DB Tayon Holloway, and three stars OLB Bryson Jennings and OL Trevyon Green. Joining Shaw from North Carolina are four stars RB Omarion Hampton, OLB Malaki Hamrick, and OLB Beau Atkinson.

   The Tar Heels remained in their recruiting footprint to bring in Georgia natives four-star DB Marcus Allen and three-star DB Will Hardy, and three-star LB Deuce Caldwell out of South Carolina. They stepped out of the footprint to secure the signatures of four-star LB Sebastian Cheeks from Illinois, three-star QB Conner Harrell from Alabama, and three-star OL Justin Kanyuk from Pennsylvania.

As a whole, the Carolina signing class includes five players invited to the Under Armour All-America game and two to the All-American Bowl. The group also includes three state Gatorade Players of the Year and 15 players who earned all-state honors.

   Carolina secured a trip to its third consecutive bowl game in 2021, which is the first time that has happened at UNC since 2016. The Heels will face South Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30 in Charlotte.

Class Breakdown by position
OLB (3) - Atkinson, Hamrick, Jennings
DB (3) - Allen, Hardy, Holloway
OL (3) - Green, Kanyuk, Rice
LB (2) - Caldwell, Cheeks
RB (2) - Hampton, Pettaway
WR (2) - Chapman, Greene Jr.
DL (1) - Shaw
QB (1) - Harrell

Class Breakdown by state
Virginia (7) - Chapman, Green, Greene Jr., Holloway, Jennings, Pettaway, Rice
North Carolina (4) – Atkinson, Hampton, Hamrick, Shaw
Georgia (2) - Allen, Hardy
Alabama (1) - Harrell
Illinois (1) - Cheeks
Pennsylvania (1) - Kanyuk
South Carolina (1) - Caldwell

Players Mentioned

Marcus Allen

Beau Atkinson

Sebastian Cheeks

Desmond Evans

Trevyon Green

Andre Greene Jr.

Tony Grimes

Omarion Hampton

Mali Hamrick

Will Hardy

Conner Harrell

Tayon Holloway

Bryson Jennings

Justin Kanyuk

George Pettaway

Zach Rice

Travis Shaw

Keeshawn Silver

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University of North Carolina Athletics