After losing 4-star QB, UNC’s 2020 football recruiting class drops out of the top 10
One player can’t make or break a recruiting class, but it appears the loss of Malik Hornsby is having an impact on UNC football’s class of 2020.
That recruiting class cracked the top 10 in the country earlier this month, according to 247Sports, going as high as No. 8 at one point. It was the first time since 2007 that a UNC recruiting class had been in the top 10.
But Hornsby, a four-star, dual-threat quarterback from Missouri City, Texas who committed to UNC in May, re-opened his recruitment on Tuesday. Hornsby was the top-ranked player in coach Mack Brown’s first full recruiting class. Hornsby is the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in the nation and the No. 24 player in the state of Texas.
As a junior Hornsby threw for 1,970 yards and 23 touchdowns, while rushing for 758 yards and 14 scores.
After Hornsby decommitted, however, the Heels 2020 recruiting class dropped to No. 16 in the nation, according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. There are two ACC schools ahead of UNC in the current standings: Clemson is ranked No. 1 class in the nation. Miami is 8.
North Carolina’s class of 2020 now has 18 verbal commitments. Four-star safety Cameron Roseman-Sinclair out of Myers Park is now the top-ranked commit in the class. One month after Hornsby committed, Brown got a verbal commitment from another quarterback, Jacolby Criswell out of Arkansas. Criswell is the No. 12 dual-threat quarterback in the country.
UNC’s quarterback situation should be fine in 2019 with three young quarterbacks on the roster. UNC’s 2019 class includes Sun Valley quarterback Sam Howell, who enrolled in January and went through spring football with the Tar Heels. Quarterbacks Jace Ruder and Cade Fortin will both be sophomores in 2019.
Will Brown look to bring in another quarterback for the class of 2020? Brown has made offers to 13 quarterbacks in that class, but 12 of the 13 have already committed to other schools. Hornsby could still re-commit to North Carolina. The early signing period for football starts in December, with a second signing day in February.
