The Tar Heels have not only lost current members of the roster to the transfer portal since Saturday, but also members of the 2023 recruiting class. On Sunday, 2023 3✮ DL Joshua Horton announced a flip of his commitment from Carolina to Miami and that was followed up today by a decommitment from one of the team’s top defensive commits in the class.
Earlier this afternoon, 2023 4✮ LB Kaveion Keys announced via social media that he was backing off of his commitment to the Tar Heels and reopening his recruitment. This doesn’t come as much of a shock, as it never really felt like he was going to be apart of this Tar Heel early signing class when he committed back on August 29th. Penn State seems like the ultimate destination, especially with him having visited Penn State for the Whiteout Game after taking his visit to Auburn during their meeting with the Nittany Lions.
While it isn’t a shock, it is another blow to a 2023 class that has lost three defensive commits in the last month. The class is still in good shape overall, with 17 commits and a top 25 ranking according to 247Sports Composite team rankings, but the loss of this talented weakside linebacker, who could play the run well and could also make plays in coverage, is not nothing.
The good news is that with this being something that seemed like it was possible for a while, the Tar Heel staff was able to formulate a plan behind the scenes with an in-state prospect that they hope can fill that spot. 3✮ LB Michael Short from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, NC is a guy who the staff was monitoring for a while before they extended him an offer back on November 11th. Since receiving that offer, he has decommitted from East Carolina, officially visited Wake Forest and scheduled an official visit to Chapel Hill for this weekend. Landing this one is important for this class with the Tar Heels needing to add a weakside linebacker to a class that already has two downhill middle linebackers committed.