Heel Tough Blog: 2026 3✮ S Moves Up Decision to Commit to UNC

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For the third time in the last five days, the Tar Heels have made an addition to their secondary in the 2026 recruiting class.

As first reported by Inside Carolina, 2026 3✮ S Darien Lewis has committed to the Tar Heels this evening after he was originally scheduled to announce his decision on Sunday. Lewis, who did not give a reason as the change in schedule, chose UNC over offers from TCU and UNLV, the other two schools that he officially visited last month. The Tar Heels hosted Lewis back on the weekend of June 20th to close out his official visit schedule and clearly showed him what he needed to see in his three days on campus.

Lewis, the No. 1454 overall prospect and No. 128 safety prospect in the 2026 class according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, hails from Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, TX. This past season, as a junior, he finished with 61 total tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, five interceptions, three passes defensed and one forced fumble in nine games. He also finished with 47 catches for 532 yards, carried the ball 37 times for 81 yards and completed one of his two passes for six yards on the offensive side of the ball. As a sophomore back in 2023, he collected 25 total tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and two interceptions in nine games. Offensively, he was the team’s starting quarterback, completing 58.2% of his passes for 866 yards and posted a 8-8 touchdown-interception ratio while also running for 830 yards and nine touchdowns on 86 carries.

Lewis, who measures in at 6’1, 200 lbs., is a guy who really shines as a run-stopping safety, but doesn’t have enough film to really get a great grip on. He loves playing in the box and being able to attack downhill in the run game and he is a very strong tackler to boot. He is an outstanding athlete that has really good speed which allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly and he does a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes. His interception numbers are impressive and he deserves credit for how well plays the football, but those numbers might be inflated by the poor passers that were on the other end of those passes. It’s hard to get a feel for just how impactful he will be at the college level with the limited film that we have on him at safety, but a lot of the traits are there for him to be able to succeed. The good news is that while he figures it out at the college level, he should be able to make an impact on special teams.

With the commitment, the Tar Heels now have 29 total commits in the 2026 recruiting class, including seven in the defensive backfield, three of which are safeties. The Tar Heels’ 2026 recruiting class sits No. 21 overall in the 2026 class and No. 5 in the ACC following his decision.