Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Add Jumbo TE to 2026 Haul

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The Tar Heels hosted their final official visit weekend before the dead period on Saturday and the team just received their first commitment from it.

On Tuesday afternoon, 2026 3✮ TE Aidan Woods announced his commitment to UNC following his official visit to campus over the weekend. He chose the Tar Heels over offers from West Virginia, Syracuse and Wake Forest, amongst others.

Woods, the No. 1563 overall prospect and the No. 81 tight end in the class according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, hails from Abingdon High School in Abingdon, VA. This past year, as a junior, he was named a first team all-region and second team All-District member as a tight end and a second team all-region and first team All-District member as a defensive end.

At 6’5, 280 lbs., it’s not hard to figure out what type of tight end Woods will be at the next level. His film highlights him as a tremendous blocking tight end, especially in the run game. He is an absolute mauler in the run game, as he simply overpowers edge rushers and linebackers with his physicality and upper body strength. He does a great job of finishing blocks, especially in the run game, and piles up the pancake blocks. As a receiver, he has a lot of work to do, but he does have promising hands. He moves well for someone of his size, but will have to run smoother routes and be more effective after the catch if he is going to be used as a tight end. Defensively, there is not nearly as much promise and it would frankly be a disappointment if the Tar Heels used him on that side of the ball. While he has the size and physicality, he struggles to get off blocks consistently, a problem that would only worsen at the college level. He needs to be kept on the offensive side of the football, but the staff needs to figure out how they want to use him before we can really determine how much upside he really has.

With his commitment, the Tar Heels now have 22 commits in the 2026 recruiting class, including three tight ends. The class stays at No. 21 overall and No. 6 in the ACC according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.