Signing day got off to a bit of an early start on Tuesday night. That’s when 2019 3✮ DT Wisdom Asaboro announced his commitment to Carolina, as officially announced by his high school coach on Twitter. Asaboro’s commitment comes just hours before National Signing Day 2019, which gets underway on Wednesday morning.
Asaboro was expected to be preparing for his senior season at Covenant Day High School in Matthews, NC, but instead, he has reclassified and will forego his senior season. Unfortunately, Covenant Day does not post stats on MaxPreps, so the Nigerian-born defensive tackle is a bit of an unknown statistically.
The tape on Asaboro presents what you would expect from someone as young as him. The upside is surely present, but he will have some growing to do fundamentally. At 6’8, 280 lbs., the size is there, but he was able to be effective in large part due to the size. It will be important for Asaboro to learn different techniques to disengage offensive guards that won’t be intimidated by his stature. The fundamental concern is how quickly he gets upright out of his stance. Getting upright too quickly allows offensive linemen to engage quicker and get push, especially in run blocking situations. That correction will happen with time, but one thing you can’t coach that Asaboro brings is athleticism. Asaboro has the athleticism to play defensive end, a position where he saw success this past season. It will be a project, but the end results could be really exciting.
With Asaboro’s commitment added, the Heels will still enter National Signing Day 2019 with the 33rd ranked class nationally and the 6th ranked class in the ACC. The Heels did close in on Miami and are now within reach of having a top 30 class in 2019 after being ranked 91st overall at one point during this cycle. Remarkable to say the least.