Heel Tough Blog: 2027 3✮ LB Commit Reaffirms Commitment

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After losing one of their top commitments in the 2027 class earlier this week, one of the Tar Heels main priorities for this weekend was to secure the commitment of linebacker commit Tasheem Butler. It seems they have done just that.

According to a report from Inside Carolina, 2027 3✮ LB Tasheem Butler has reaffirmed his commitment to UNC as he reached the conclusion of his visit to Chapel Hill. He told the site that he will not be taking his remaining official visits to UCF and Pittsburgh, who were making pushes to flip him. He also spurns Maryland, who hosted him last week for an official alongside now-Maryland commit Chuck Roberts.

Butler, the No. 918 overall prospect and No. 79 linebacker in the 2026 class according to Rivals Composite Rankings, hails from Glassboro High School in Glassboro, NJ. In 13 games this past year, Butler finished with 138 total tackles, 34.0 tackles for loss, eight sacks, nine quarterback hurries, one pass deflection and a forced fumble.

Butler has a fun tape to watch. The first thing that stands out is the physicality that he plays with. It shows up in a multitude of ways, but especially when he is shedding blocks and meeting ball carriers in the hole. He has the speed to play sideline-to-sideline and his closing speed when he looks in on a ball carrier allows him to take aggressive angles to the football and make the plays that he needs to in the open field. You don’t see much of him in coverage, so there are some questions there, but he looks natural when he drops and has the tools to be successful in that area. He brings plenty of special teams experience with him and that could be the way that he finds his way on to the field early in his career. There is a lot of potential here and the production makes it easy to be excited about even if he may not be the highest rated prospect.

This is a good job by the staff to keep a productive piece of the class in place. It will be interesting to see what this means to the other linebackers that the team is currently recruiting as they likely look for at least one more commitment at the position.