UNC’s 2021 football recruiting class is ranked ahead of Clemson thanks to in-state players
UNC football is leaping into uncharted territory.
Thanks to two more verbal commitments over the weekend, the Tar Heels’ 2021 recruiting class is now ranked No. 2 in the country according to 247Sports. It’s the highest-ranked class for UNC since the mid-2000s.
Friday, coach Mack Brown got two more in-state verbals that gave the class one more big boost. Linebacker Raneiria Dillworth (Glenn High School) and offensive guard Jared Wilson (West Forsyth High School) verbally committed Friday. The next day, the Tar Heels had the No. 2 class in the country, ranked between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson.
Brown isn’t done, but a No. 2 class in April shows that he has made good on his return to Chapel Hill. In the last 10 years, UNC has only finished with a top 20 class three times — twice inside the top 15. A top three ranking for Carolina football is almost unheard of.
Brown has a chance to have the football teams recruiting class ranked higher than the basketball team for just the second time ever. In 2015, the football program was ranked 28th nationally and the basketball program’s class was ranked No. 70.
Dillworth (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) is the No. 13 player in the state and the No. 17 outside linebacker in the country. Last season, he led the team with 198 tackles and 22.5 tackles for loss. Wilson (6-4, 325) is the No. 22 player in the state and the No. 20 offensive guard in the country. UNC has 14 verbal commitments (players can’t officially sign until December) for the class of 2021 and 13 of those players are from North Carolina. Brown has emphasized keeping the best players in state since taking over the program.
Out of the top 20 players in the state, 10 have verbally committed to UNC. The Tar Heels signed 14 in-state recruits for the 2020 recruiting class.
Another area where Brown is excelling is the number of highly ranked prospects he’s bringing in. Last year’s class, his first full recruiting bunch, had nine four-star players. The class of 2021 already has 11. The most four-stars UNC has had in the last 15 years was 13 in 2009 — a Butch Davis recruiting class that finished No. 12 in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC. A Carolina recruiting class hasn’t finished No. 1 in the ACC since 2007, when Davis signed a pair of five-star players.
The marquee prospect in this year’s class is Myers Park quarterback Drake Maye, who decommitted from Nick Saban and Alabama to play for Brown and the Tar Heels. Maye (6-5, 215) is the No. 2 player in the state and No. 6 pro-style signal caller in the country. Last season, he passed for 3,512 yards and 50 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Swaying a commitment from a powerhouse like Bama wasn’t a fluke. Dillworth picked UNC while holding an offer from the Crimson Tide as well.
