The focus of many Tar Heel fans on Thursday when it came to the 2024 recruiting class was focused on the decision of one of the team’s top quarterback targets, Jake Merklinger. While that decision didn’t go their way, the team did land the commitment of an edge rusher target from the state of Tennessee.
Earlier this afternoon, 2024 EDGE Daniel Anderson announced that he has committed to the Tar Heels over Indiana, Coastal Carolina and others. His commitment comes after a visit to Chapel Hill over the weekend, which came just a few days after he received the offer from Tim Cross.
Anderson, an unranked prospect according to all four of the major recruiting websites, is heading into his senior season at Germantown High School in Germantown, TN under head coach Gene Robinson III, a former Tar Heel defensive back. This past season as a junior, he finished with 46 total tackles, 12.0 tackles for a loss and 8.0 sacks on the way to earning all-region honors in Region 8-6A.
Anderson jumps off the tape with his quickness off the edge. His release off the line of scrimmage is really strong and causes problems for tackles. That jump off the ball allows him to beat many defenders inside and make plays in the backfield. He combines that quick release with good speed that allows him to track down ball carriers and quarterbacks at a pretty high rate. He is a strong tackler that doesn’t miss many tackles when he has a chance to make a play. Physicality will be the biggest question with him since he consistently wins with speed, but there are some moments where he holds up well inside against some of the bigger linemen he faced. Anderson is a bit of a developmental prospect and probably won’t make an immediate impact, but he isn’t nearly as much of a project as you would think an unranked prospect would be. This is a very solid, high upside addition for the Tar Heels.
Anderson’s commitment gives the Tar Heels their sixth of this class. With him being unranked, the class stays put at No. 21 overall and No. 5 in the ACC according to 247Sports Composite team rankings.