Happy New Year, folks! Let’s hope 2021 brings us an even better year of Tar Heel sports than 2020, and also that we’ll have at least somewhat of a return to being able to attend games, hear crowd noise, and not worry about people possibly spreading a deadly disease every game they play. Of course, a program’s future in college sports is defined by recruiting, so let’s ring in the new decade by taking a look at the state of recruiting for UNC.

Football

• As expected, Tayon Holloway joined his fellow Tidewater 4-star junior Tychaun Chapman in committing to UNC on Christmas Day. Holloway is a defensive back, so Dre Bly probably played a big role in getting him to Chapel Hill. Also, this tweet came out from a fairly big player in the Tidewater youth area, which can only be a good thing:

• Nothing else is really on the horizon for UNC recruiting; as I’m sure Mack Brown and staff are mostly focused on the Orange Bowl at the moment. Things are surely still happening, because recruitment never really stops, but there isn’t anything newsworthy at the moment. I’m going to reiterate that we don’t really expect more to change with the 2021 class now that everybody who had committed for 2021 has signed, but I’ll keep that spreadsheet up until the later Signing Day has passed.

Basketball:

• Roy Williams is starting to focus on future classes even harder, having handed out two scholarship offers in the past week: to five-star guard Robert Dillingham, one of the best players in the 2023 class regardless of position and a North Carolina product, and four-star guard Nick Smith from Arkansas, the second-best shooting guard in the 2022 class. Both have been described as three-level scorers and big-time shot makers, which would be welcome for the UNC roster. We’ll let you know as those situations develop.
• Unicorn prospect Chet Holmgren’s recruitment has been difficult to look into, as he’s been good about keeping people at a distance. He recently got his first Crystal Ball projection, and it was to Gonzaga. UNC probably wasn’t a huge player in this one, but it’s new information all the same.