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I know this may sound like a broken record, but Carolina football has been on a tear on the recruiting trail ever since Mack Brown returned to Chapel Hill. Does it need to be repeatedly said? Not at all. Is it still really fun to say? Absolutely.
I digress. One of the biggest commitments he has landed since he returned is 2021 defensive end Keeshawn Silver. Silver committed to the Tar Heels back in March of this year, and will be an immediate impact freshman when he arrives on campus. In fact, he is such a good player that he has moved up in the rankings this month.
Yesterday Keeshawn Silver officially earned his fifth star in the 247Sports Composite rankings. This now makes him the lone five-star recruit in the 2021 class, the second-best high school player in the state of North Carolina, the fourth-best strong-side defensive end in the country, and the 25th best overall player in the country. With a rating of 0.9861 overall, this also makes him the fourth-best player UNC has ever recruited in the 247Sports Composite era behind Marvin Austin, Donte Moss, and Dwight Jones.
If this weren’t impressive enough, Mack Brown has recruited three other players who are amongst the ten-best players to commit to the Heels In this particular era. Prior to Keeshawn Silver earning his fifth star, four-star freshman cornerback Tony Grimes was the best recruit to commit, with defensive end Desmond Evans and 2021 QB Drake Maye not far behind.
One important detail that shouldn’t get lost when discussing Keeshawn Silver is that he plans to play both football and basketball when he arrives on campus. It is eerily reminiscent of another defensive lineman that played both sports who went on to have a spectacular career both at UNC and in the NFL by the name of Julius Peppers. It’ll be a lot of fun to see what he brings to the basketball court, but it will be even more fun to see him torment quarterbacks once he arrives on campus.
What do you think of Silver receiving his fifth star? Do you think we may see another Tar Heel sneak into the five-star club before next fall? Let us know in the comments below.