Heel Tough Blog: 2027 RB Commits to UNC During Visit

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The Tar Heels picked up two commitments on Saturday within minutes of each other. The second of the two came in the form of one of the team’s top running back targets in the middle of his visit to Chapel Hill on Saturday.

As first reported by Inside Carolina, the Tar Heels landed a commitment from 2027 unranked running back Isaiah Stephens during his unofficial visit to campus to watch a Tar Heel spring practice session. He chooses the Tar Heels over Ole Miss, Purdue and SMU amongst a host of others.

Stephens, who is currently unranked by Rivals Composite Rankings, hails from Sheridan High School in Sheridan, AR. This past year, as a junior, he ran for 1,381 yards and 21 touchdowns on 197 carries and caught 48 passes for 619 yards and four touchdowns in eleven games. The year prior, as a sophomore, he ran for 1,526 yards and 21 touchdowns on 197 carries and caught 61 passes for 911 yards and nine touchdowns in eleven games.

Stephens might be unranked right now, but he should be for long. The thing that immediately jumps off the screen on his tape is his speed and acceleration, which will be a nice addition to a Tar Heel backfield that will be searching for both of those elements again this season. The speed makes him difficult to bring down, but it becomes even more difficult when you take into effect how shifty he is with the ball in his hands. As a receiver, he does a great job of taking advantage of mismatches out of the backfield and the volume of catches show that he is a true threat in this area. It may take him a little bit of time to work his way up the depth chart, but there is some really nice promise here that could make him one of the more complete running backs that the Tar Heels have had recently.

With his commitment and Tasheem Butler’s earlier this afternoon, the Tar Heels now sit at five commitments in the class. The class jumps to No. 32 overall and No. 7 in the ACC according to the Rivals Composite Team Rankings.