Heel Tough Blog: 2026 WR Target Sets Top Six

High School OT

The Tar Heels have very few needs remaining in the 2026 recruiting, but the one major one that still exists is at the slot position. While the team has a lot of focus on 4✮ ATH CJ Sadler, they are also targeting in-state prospect 3✮ WR Dionte Neal, who narrowed down his top schools list on Thursday.

As he announced via social media by D1visuals, Neal is down to six schools in his recruitment. UNC is joined by Appalachian State, Boston College, Duke, Old Dominion and UNC-Greensboro as those still left in the running for him. It also appears that his decision date has been set for September 14th, leaving a one-month sprint to the finish for his services.

Neal, who is unranked in football and ranked No. 179 overall in the 2026 class basketball according to the 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, hails from Reidsville, NC. This past year as a junior, he spent the season at quarterback, throwing for 2,495 yards and posting a 29-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio on 74.6% completions. He also ran for 583 yards and eight touchdowns on just 64 carries, finished with 18 total tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery and returned five kicks for 248 yards and a touchdown and five punts for 113 yards and a touchdown. The year prior, as a sophomore, he caught 39 passes for 547 yards and seven touchdowns, collected 13 total tackles, three interceptions and a touchdown and returned two kicks for 59 yards and three punts for 72 yards and a touchdown. As a freshman back in 2022, he hauled in 51 catches for 730 yards and ten touchdowns on offense, had 35 total tackles, 12 interceptions and three touchdowns on defense and returned nine kicks for 244 yards and a touchdown and eight punts for 95 yards in sixteen games.

When it comes to where his recruitment sits, it feels like he is looking for the opportunity to play both football and basketball and might even be leaning more towards basketball, putting the Tar Heels at a disadvantage. If Belichick and the staff can convince him that he will be a big part of what they do, it might be enough to get him to Chapel Hill, though.