For the third consecutive day, the Tar Heels have added a defensive player to their 2025 recruiting class.
2025 LB Anthony Kruah announced via social media earlier this evening that he was committing to the Tar Heels over Auburn, Baylor and Boston College, the three other schools that he had set official visits with. His commitment comes after he visited Chapel Hill last Saturday for the Tar Heels all-access practice, a trip that was his first since he received his offer from Tommy Thigpen back in February.
Kruah is heading into his senior season at Marietta High School in Marietta, GA after two very productive years to start his varsity career. This past year, as a junior, he finished with 70 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries, one interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on his way to earning first team all-region honors. The year prior, he earned second team all-region honors while notching 50 total tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, one quarterback hurry and two fumble recoveries.
Kruah gives the Tar Heels a versatile piece to use in this defense. He has spent the majority of his time off the edge the last two seasons, but did start to see reps at linebacker in the latter part of this past season. At 6’2, 210 lbs., it’s hard to see him sticking at edge rusher, so the hope would be that he can get more snaps at linebacker this season to help with the transition at the college level. Kruah does an outstanding job of shedding blocks to make plays in the backfield and plays with a nice level of physicality. He is a strong tackler and because of his mentality as a defensive end, he loves playing downhill, which will allow him to make plays in the backfield. He will have work to do in coverage to make the transition to linebacker, which is why it could take time for him to make an impact for Carolina, but there is a lot of upside here.
With his commitment, the Tar Heels already have ten commitments in the 2025 class, including five from the state of Georgia. The class still remains No. 17 overall and No. 4 in the ACC in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.