Heel Tough Blog: Official Visit Weekend Preview- June 5th

After hosting a big weekend of official visitors last weekend, the Tar Heels are set to host what might be an even more important group this weekend. Here’s a look at the ten 2027 prospects that are expected to be on campus the next few days.

Committed

3✮ LB Tasheem Butler- Glassboro (Glassboro, NJ)

Butler has been committed since March 28th, but the Tar Heels are going to be looking to hold on to that commitment when he takes this visit. Maryland (May 28th), UCF (June 12th) and Pittsburgh (June 19th) are all looking to flip him, something that will be interesting to see how UNC responds to. Depending on how they feel with the other linebackers on this list will likely determine how hard they push to keep him.

3✮ RB Isaiah Stephens- Sheridan (Sheridan, AR)

Stephens committed to the Tar Heels back on March 28th and looks as if he is pretty locked in at this point. This will be a nice asset to have on campus during that weekend to help recruit some other big names.

In the Lead

4✮ RB Tranard Roberts- Villages Charter School (Williston, FL): June 5th

This is a recruitment that has taken a major turn in the last couple of weeks. After originally having official visits scheduled to Florida and Michigan, those appear to have been cancelled putting the Tar Heels in prime position to land his commitment. It’s up to the staff to prove to him that he should shut down his recruitment this weekend and not look elsewhere.

UR WR Anthony Williams- Oceanside Collegiate Academy (North Charleston, SC): June 5th

Williams is a guy the Tar Heels have been pushing for over the past few months, and this visit will be extremely important. After initially looking like it would be a two-team battle between the Tar Heels and West Virginia, it appears the Mountaineers are now out of the race and two new schools have entered. According to 247Sports, he will visit both Liberty (June 12th) and Virginia Tech (June 19th) before the end of the month. The Tar Heels are probably the slight favorite heading into the weekend, but it’s up to the staff to stand out even more this weekend.

Toss Up

3✮ LB Aaron Williams- Ridge Point (Missouri City, TX): June 5th

One of the other important prospects for the Tar Heels to focus on at this position will be Williams, who the team looks to be one of the final three for. Mississippi State, whom he visited last weekend, and Utah (June 12th) are the two schools that the team is battling here and feels like things are pretty even heading into the weekend. The good news is that distance doesn’t seem to be a concern for him, so it will come down to who has the best pitch.

3✮ S Marcus Jones- Haverford School (Malvern, PA): June 5th

Jones is a late addition to the official visit ledger for this weekend and is one that the Tar Heels have some work to do with. Ole Miss appears to be the leader here, especially after his official visit there last weekend, but Michigan is lurking as well. The Tar Heels need a great showing here if they are going to find a way to actually land his commitment.

3✮ LB Jason Crenshaw- Prattville (Prattville, AL): June 5th

Crenshaw might be further down on the list in terms of rankings, but may still be a big priority for the team on the weekend he visits. This battle appears to be a three team race between the Tar Heels, Georgia Tech and Kentucky, the schools he will visit over the course of the next week. With other visitors on campus at the position, it will be interesting to see how hard the Tar Heels push here.

3✮ QB Noah Spinks- Summer Creek (Houston, TX): June 5th

Spinks might be a lower-ranked 3✮, but he is viewed in high regard by the Tar Heel staff. General manager Michael Lombardi made a trip to Houston last month for an in-home visit with him, showing just how much they value him. Utah made a really strong pitch to him last week to take the lead in this recruitment, but the fact that he is visiting this weekend shows that there is still opportunity here for the Tar Heels. Now it’s up to this staff to seize it with what might be their last chance to land a quarterback in this class. 

Probably Headed Elsewhere

4✮ OT Kal-El Johnson- Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, OH): June 5th

After initially looking like he wasn’t going to visit, Johnson revealed to Allen Trieu of Rivals that he will be visiting this weekend. After three visits in May, Georgia Tech appears to be firmly in control here, but he still has this trip to Chapel Hill and visits to Auburn (June 12th) and LSU (June 19th) that he is expected to make. The Tar Heels really need a strong visit here to stand any chance of pulling this off.

4✮ RB Elijah Kimble- Canisius (Buffalo, NY): June 5th

Kimble is a highly-ranked back that comes into this month of official visits with what appears to be a pretty wide open race between the four teams that are scheduled to host him. He is just coming off a visit to Syracuse last weekend and has already visited Indiana, another fierce competitor for his services. It feels like the staff still has their work cut out for them, but it feels like there is more opportunity here than there was just a couple of weeks ago.