Football Welcomes Fourth-Straight Top-25 Class On National Signing Day

Football Welcomes Fourth-Straight Top-25 Class On National Signing Day

December 21, 2022 | Football

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina football program signed 20 newcomers, including 10 early enrollees, on Wednesday as part of National Signing Day. Currently ranked as the No. 25 class in the country according to the 247Sports Composite, Carolina's group includes 10 players who have earned four stars from at least one recruiting service and 10 three stars across the four major recruiting services.

The well-rounded class covers all position groups and is split evenly by sides of the ball with 11 members playing defense and nine on offense. The group played its senior seasons in five different states including six players from Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia and one each from Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Behind Carolina's recruiting philosophy, which focuses on the region from Virginia to Atlanta, the Tar Heels signed 19 of its 20 players from that footprint.

The 2023 signing class is headlined by a group of six four stars according to the 247Sports Composite, five from North Carolina and one from Virginia. WR Chris Culliver from Maiden, N.C. is the highest rated of the bunch, followed by JACKs Jaybron Harvey (Mebane, N.C.) and Tyler Thompson (Cary, N.C.). Massive defensive lineman Joel Starlings heads to Chapel Hill from Richmond, while WR Christian Hamilton (Harrisburg, N.C.) and QB Tad Hudson (Huntersville, N.C.) round out the group.

Additionally, DB Kaleb Cost from Atlanta, LB Caleb LaVallee from Smyrna, Ga., RB Jordan Louie from Tuscaloosa, Ala. via Norcross, Ga. and TE Julien Randolph from Ashburn, Va. are listed as four-star prospects by at least one of the recruiting services.

The class is strengthened by a talented group of three-star prospects that were highly coveted across the region, including DBs Ty Adams (Swainsboro, Ga.), Ayden Duncanson (Atlanta) and Tre Miller (Birmingham, Ala. via Edmond, Okla.), WR Paul Billups (Chesapeake, Va.), LBs Amare Campbell (Manassas, Va.) and Michael Short (Columbus, Ohio via Charlotte, N.C.), OL D.J. Geth (Spartanburg, S.C.), R.J. Grigsby (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Nolan McConnell (Stafford, Va.), and DL Rodney Lora (North Arlington, N.J. via Woodberry Forest, Va.).

North Carolina heads into a Holiday Bowl match-up versus Oregon on Dec. 28 looking for a chance to win its 10th game. The Heels, currently 9-4, won nine games for just the second time since Mack Brown's first stint in Chapel Hill. This is UNC's fourth consecutive bowl berth in as many seasons and its 10th consecutive bowl trip with Brown at the helm.

Signing Day Central

Mack Brown Signing Day Press Conference - Noon

SIGNEES

Time Signed	Full Name	*	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	CL	Hometown / High School
8:20 AM	Ty Adams		DB	5-11	175	Fr.	Swainsboro, Ga. / Swainsboro
10:20 AM	Paul Billups	*	WR	6-2	185	Fr.	Chesapeake, Va. / Western Branch
8:30 AM	Amare Campbell	*	LB	6-0	218	Fr.	Manassas, Va. / Unity Reed
9:10 AM	Kaleb Cost		DB	5-11	180	Fr.	Atlanta, Ga. / Sandy Creek
10:00 AM	Chris Culliver		WR	6-3	175	Fr.	Maiden, N.C. / Maiden
7:59 AM	Ayden Duncanson		DB	6-2	185	Fr.	Atlanta, Ga. / Whitefield Academy
8:50 AM	D.J. Geth	*	OL	6-4	300	Fr.	Spartanburg, S.C. / Dorman
7:17 AM	R.J. Grigsby	*	OL	6-4	310	Fr.	Kennesaw, Ga. / North Cobb
9:30 AM	Christian Hamilton	*	WR	6-1	175	Fr.	Harrisburg, N.C. / Hickory Ridge
7:40 AM	Jaybron Harvey	*	JACK	6-3	225	Fr.	Mebane, N.C. / Southern Durham
10:50 AM	Tad Hudson	*	QB	6-3	220	Fr.	Huntersville, N.C. / Hough
10:40 AM	Caleb LaVallee		LB	6-1	215	Fr.	Smyrna, Ga. / Whitefield Academy
8:10 AM	Rodney Lora		DL	6-4	265	Fr.	North Arlingtong, N.J. / Woodberry Forest (Va.)
10:10 AM	Jordan Louie		RB	5-11	205	Fr.	Tuscaloosa, Ala. / Meadowcreek (Ga.)
9:20 AM	Nolan McConnell	*	OL	6-7	280	Fr.	Stafford, Va. / Colonial Forge
10:30 AM	Tre Miller		DB	5-20	165	Fr.	Birmingham, Ala. / Deer Creek (Okla.)
9:00 AM	Julien Randolph		TE	6-5	235	Fr.	Purcellville, Va. / Independence
9:50 AM	Michael Short	*	LB	6-3	215	Fr.	Columbus, Ohio / Mallard Creek (N.C.)
9:40 AM	Joel Starlings		DL	6-5	310	Fr.	Richmond, Va. / Benedictine
7:26 AM	Tyler Thompson	*	JACK	6-4	220	Fr.	Cary, N.C. / Panther Creek

* - early enrollee

Class Breakdown by position
DB (4) - Adams, Cost, Duncanson, Miller
LB (3) - Campbell, LaVallee, Short
OL (3) - Geth, Grigsby, McConnell
WR (3) - Billups, Culliver, Hamilton
DL (2) - Lora, Starlings
JACK (2) - Harvey, Thompson
QB (1) - Hudson
RB (1) - Louie
TE (1) - Randolph

Class Breakdown by state
Georgia (6) - Adams, Cost, Duncanson, Grigsby, LaVallee, Louie
North Carolina (6) – Culliver, Hamilton, Harvey, Hudson, Short, Thompson
Virginia (6) - Billups, Campbell, Lora, McConnell, Randolph, Starlings
Oklahoma (1) - Miller
South Carolina (1) - Geth