The Tar Heels have just wrapped up what might be the most important weekend of their 2024 recruiting cycle. All eleven of the prospects that were on campus came in uncommitted and the team was either considered the leader or one of the top contenders for all but one of those. On Sunday afternoon, the team secured their first of what could be many commitments from this weekend.
2024 3✮ ATH Carlos Mitchell Jr. announced via social media that he was committing to Carolina just a few hours after leaving Chapel Hill. His commitment also comes just five days after he released a top-six list despite not having another official visit scheduled. It seemed like this was going to happen at some point, it was just a matter of when.
Mitchell Jr. is preparing for his senior season at Lake Wales High School in Lake Wales, FL looking for a second consecutive state title. Last year, he was one of the most explosive receivers in the entire country, racking up 815 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 28 receptions. Defensively, he was also incredibly impactful, racking up 81 total tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, eight interceptions, four interception return touchdowns and 17 passes defensed. He was even a major contributor on special teams where he returned two punts and one kick for touchdowns while averaging over 30 yards per return in both categories. He was almost just as impactful as a sophomore on the offensive side of the football, catching 24 passes for 709 yards and nine touchdowns and running for 245 yards and a touchdown on sixteen rush attempts.
Mitchell Jr. is a pretty well-rounded prospect. His speed translates to every aspect of his game, but especially on the defensive side of the football where the Tar Heels are looking to play him. His closing speed makes a huge difference both in coverage and in the open field when he is hunting down a ball carrier. He is a really strong tackler, especially for an outside corner and he does a good job of fighting to shed blocks and make plays in the run game. He thrives in both man and zone coverage situations and likes to be physical at the line of scrimmage to jam receivers at the start of their routes. The biggest attribute that he brings, though, is his ability to take away the football. While some of his eight interceptions were aided by bad throws, being able to create those turnovers is something that this secondary is still desperately in need of. The concern with Mitchell Jr. is about the learning curve from the high school to college level. He only started playing on the defensive side of the football at the high school level last season and the 3M classification in the state of Florida is far from the most daunting competition in the country. This is still are really solid addition for the team to the defensive backfield for a team that needs the help there.
Mitchell Jr.’s commitment gives the Tar Heels fifteen commits in the 2024 class, a third of which now come from the state of Florida. The class now sits 13th overall and 4th in the ACC in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.