National Signing Day 2019 will take place this Wednesday and unlike in the past couple of recruiting cycle, Wednesday will be an action-packed day for the coaching staff. Here’s all the information and names you need to know prior to Wednesday.
Schedule
7:00 AM-3:00 PM
Letters of Intent Can Be Received
3:00 PM
Mack Brown Signing Day Press Conference
6:00 PM
Signing Day Celebration Dinner
Those Who Are Signed
The Heels signed 19 prospects during the early signing period and, with six having already early enrolled. Here are the prospects who are already locked in to the 2019 class.
4✮ QB-DUAL Sam Howell- Sun Valley (Indian Trail, NC)
No. 93 overall | No. 3 QB-DUAL
4✮ WR Khafre Brown- West Mecklenburg (Charlotte, NC)
No. 213 overall | No. 31 WR
4✮ OT Triston Miller- Charlotte Country Day (Charlotte, NC)
No. 351 overall | No. 30 OT
3✮ WR Emery Simmons- South View (Hope Mills, NC)
No. 533 overall | No. 64 WR
3✮ RB Josh Henderson- Hun School (Princeton, NJ)
No. 591 overall | No. 39 RB
3✮ S Giovanni Biggers- The Boy’s Latin School (Baltimore, MD)
No. 704 overall | No. 54 S
3✮ S Khadry Jackson- Windermere Prep (Windermere, FL)
No. 860 overall | No. 69 S
3✮ WR Welton Spottsville- Havelock (Havelock, NC)
No. 868 overall | No. 107 WR
3✮ OT Asim Richards- Haverford School (Haverford, PA)
No. 901 overall | No. 74 OT
3✮ SDE Tomari Fox- Collins Hill (Suwanee, GA)
No. 985 overall | No. 65 SDE
3✮ TE Kamari Morales- Lincoln (Tallahassee, FL)
No. 996 overall | No. 45 TE
3✮ SDE Kevin Hester- North Cobb (Kennesaw, GA)
No. 1180 overall | No. 77 SDE
3✮ CB Storm Duck- Boiling Springs (Boiling Springs, SC)
No. 1200 overall | No. 117 CB
3✮ OT Wyatt Tunall- Chester (Chester, SC)
No. 1254 overall | No. 99 OT
3✮ SDE Kristian Varner- Hiram (Hiram, GA)
No. 1309 overall | No. 87 SDE
3✮ WR Justin Olson- North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, NC)
No. 1537 overall | No. 182 WR
3✮ CB Obi Egbuna- Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, NC)
No. 1873 overall | No. 183 CB
2✮ P Ben Kiernan- Wakefield (Raleigh, NC)
No. 2785 overall | No. 14 P
2✮ LS Drew Little- North Stanly (New London, NC)
No. 3436 overall | No. 9 LS
Those Who Are Committed
Four previously committed prospects are expected to send in their letters of intents on Wednesday morning. Two prospects (Ty Murray and Raymond Vohasek) committed to Carolina just days after their official visits to Chapel Hill back on January 12th, while two (Don Chapman and Wisdom Asaboro) waited a bit following their visits from that safe weekend. Two of the four weren’t offered until December 24th and later and one reclassified from the 2020 class, meaning the Heels sealed the deal quickly, something that Mack Brown and his staff have repeatedly been able to do so far this offseason.
3✮ DT Wisdom Asaboro- Covenant Day (Matthews, NC)
No. 502 overall | No. 36 DT
3✮ S Don Chapman- Lincoln (San Diego, CA)
No. 768 overall | No. 60 S
3✮ OG Ty Murray- Carrollton (Carrollton, GA)
No. 830 overall | No. 47 OG
3✮ SDE Raymond Vohasek- College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL)
No. 104 JUCO overall | No. 14 JUCO SDE
Those Who Are Remaining
That brings us to the key targets that the Heels are in the running for and who you should be keeping an eye on for Wednesday. We’ll breakdown what each player will bring to table if they were to commit to Carolina, the expected times they will commit and, most importantly, the perceived chances that Carolina has to land each player’s services.
4✮ OLB Eugene Asante- Westfield (Chantilly, VA)
No. 282 overall | No. 17 OLB
Announcement Time: 6:00 PM
What He Brings: The Heels most important remaining target visited Chapel Hill this past weekend, giving them the final shot to make a lasting impression in the race for his services. Asante has the potential to play early wherever he goes, especially with his ability to flow sideline-to-sideline and consistently bring down ball carriers in open space. His speed means he flies around and is able to close gaps with relative ease. Some believe that the reason Asante took so long to become a 4✮ prospect is because of his 6’1, 212 lbs. frame, but that size will fit what Bateman is looking for in his system.
What the Experts Are Thinking: Virginia Tech has been the leader in the race for him since his recruitment began to heating up back in late December. Florida State has joined the Heels as the teams to make late pushes, but the Heels may hold a slight advantage over the Seminoles with this past weekend’s visit. Still, it appears that heading into Wednesday night’s decision, Virginia Tech is a slight favorite.
3✮ CB Collin Duncan- St. James School (Birmingham, AL)
No. 466 overall | No. 47 CB
Announcement Time: TBA
What He Brings: A flexible option in the defensive backfield, who saw success at safety as a senior this past season. If he remains at safety at the college level, the head-hunter will continue be expected to continue to lay the lumber and tackle in open space like he did as a senior this past season. The concern, and reason he may not play corner at the next level, is his 4.86 40-yard dash, but the tape shows he has to ability to close and make plays on the football.
What the Experts Are Thinking: The Heels appeared to be solidly in the fight for his services, but Mississippi State has made a major push to take a significant lead. At this point, it seems like it will be Starkville or nowhere for Duncan.
3✮ DT Michael Lockhart- Huffman (Birmingham, AL)
No. 1072 overall | No. 71 DT
Announcement Time: TBA
What He Brings: He has the size needed to play defensive end immediately at the next level, especially with his ability to knock down passes at the line of scrimmage. The issue for Lockhart is his lack of quickness off the line of scrimmage, which is why 247sports now lists him as a defensive tackle. Lockhart is a limited pass rusher, though, as his size was the main thing that allowed him to dominate at the high school level, but does have a strong swim move that can be built on and potentially added to.
What the Experts Are Thinking: Mississippi State has been the favorite in this race for a while, but the Heels at one time weren’t far behind. However, with the Heels adding a fourth defensive end to this class earlier this month in Vohasek, the Heels are now seen as the off the radar third place team, with Mississippi State and Georgia Tech battling it out for his commitment.
3✮ OLB Octavius Brothers- Rockledge (Rockledge, FL)
No. 1213 overall | No. 85 OLB
Announcement Time: 3:45 PM
What He Brings: Size is again what limits a player, in this case Brothers, from being ranked higher because there is not lack of athleticism whatsoever. Brothers played everywhere from linebacker to nickel to outside corner defensively this past season and even was a key contributor at wide receiver offensively. His athleticism allows him to cover ground quickly and makes him hard to beat around the edge in running situations and hard to beat in coverage. Brothers is another strong opener field tackler, something the Heels defense is in need of, especially with the conversion to Bateman’s new aggressive zone-based defense.
What the Experts Are Thinking: The Heels have been in the race for Brothers the longest out of three schools that he has narrowed his decision down to, but both Miami and Auburn have made significant strides to overtake the Heels. Although the Heels aren’t out of the race, the belief is that Miami or Auburn will be the selection for him.
Class Ranking
Overall: 33rd | ACC: 6th
The Heels enter the day just outside of the top 30, according to 247sports. Clearly, one of the main goals of the day would be to get the class inside of the top 30 and make a move in the ACC rankings, as well. Passing Miami, who is ranked just one spot ahead at 32 is attainable, as is catching Virginia Tech at 29, something that could come down to Asante’s commitment.
For all of the latest information on Signing Day, make sure you are subscribed to the Heel Tough Blog and keep an eye on tomorrow’s signing day thread.
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