UNC Recruiting: Week of 9/24

This week overall was a slow news week, but there are a few developments that are worth keeping an eye on. Let’s take a look at what has been going on in this week’s recruiting update.

Football News

• Things were very quiet on the football side for things for a while now, but that all changed Saturday. During the UNC / Pitt game, a number of recruits visited Chapel Hill to and got to experience a live game, including a couple of surprise visitors. FSU commit and four-star quarterback Sam Howell (Monroe, NC) was in attendance along with NC State commit and four-star defensive tackle C.J. Clark (New London, NC), as reported by Inside Carolina during their State of UNC Football Podcast.
• When looking at Sam Howell’s situation, it is an interesting yet complicated one. Howell has stated that he is firmly committed to FSU, and yet it sounds like he is still involved with other schools. The reason for this is unknown, but there is at least somewhat of a chance that if UNC plays their cards right, they may be able to get him to decide to play football in-state.
• C.J. Clark’s situation is a bit more messy than Howell’s situation, whether he intended for that to happen or not. It was reported that he did not inform NC State personnel that he would be visiting UNC this past weekend. It will be worth keeping an eye on how State responds to the situation going forward, but Clark is also doubling down on the fact that he is committed to State and that his recruitment is over. It should be known that he is friends with 2019 commit Drew Little, and that both Little and Clark’s families are UNC fans. There’s not enough here for too much speculation about both players, but it’s hard to consider either players to be completely off of Fedora’s recruiting board.

Football Commitments

Basketball News

• Yesterday, five-star small forward Keion Brooks announced his top six schools that he will focus on for the remainder of his recruitment:

Following this announcement, Brooks spoke with PrepCircuit.com about each school left on his list, including UNC:

“Coach Williams has been doing a great job in making sure that I know I’m a priority. He has said they have nobody like me in their program that can play multiple positions on offense and be able to guard multiple positions on defense.”

The Tar Heels will have their work cut out for them — Brooks is heavily favored to play college ball in the Midwest, with Indiana 50% favored, and Michigan State 38% according to the 247 Sports Crystal Ball. While it seems like a long shot to get him, it is also worth noting that he is using one of his official visits to make a trip to Chapel Hill. We’ll see how things play out in the coming months.

• Rivals Basketball Recruiting Analyst Clint Jackson tweeted over the weekend that UNC commit Armando Bacot plans to take his official visit this coming weekend with five-star prospect Cole Anthony:

This visit is coming off of the heels of a visit by fellow 2019 prospects Josh Green and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Bacot has been working hard to get all three players to join him in Chapel Hill next year, and it appears that he doesn’t plan on letting off the gas anytime soon. Armando, if you happen to be reading this, keep up the good work.

Basketball 2019 Offers

Basketball 2020 Offers

Basketball 2019 Commits

Basketball 2020 Commits