Saturday is a big day on campus for the Tar Heels, as another massive group of visitors from the 2024 class is on campus to begin the month of April. One of the prospects that were on campus last weekend, though, has become the latest prospect to commit to the class earlier today.
2024 3✮ OT Luke Masterson announced via his social media accounts on Saturday morning that he was committing to the Tar Heels over Duke, Georgia Tech and others. Masterson was on campus for an unofficial visit last weekend along with his father, who attended the university himself, for the second time since January. He had visits scheduled this weekend for Duke and TCU, but will not take those after his decision.
Masterson, the No. 59 offensive tackle in the class according to the 247Sports Composite player rankings, is heading into his final season at Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, TN. As a junior this past season, he earned all-region honors in the Division II-Class AA Middle Region as part of a Panthers team that finished the season 10-2 and fell in the state quarterfinals. Masterson was also an all-region honorable mention as a sophomore back in 2021.
Masterson will be another offensive lineman in this class that will be looked at as a developmental prospect. At 6’6, 275 lbs., he plays with a thin frame and that is evidenced by turning on his film. He is very athletic and moves well laterally help him stay in front of edge rushers in pass protection. His athleticism allows him to thrive in pull-blocking situations and screen-blocking situations out on the edge. The question with Masterson is going to be whether or not he has the ability to win at the line of scrimmage in run-blocking situations. You don’t see him overpowering defensive linemen the way that you do with the other two commits in this class and the mean streak doesn’t show up as it does on the defensive side of the football. That is something that you are hoping the Tar Heel staff can drag out of him when he arrives to campus. Masterson will probably take some time to make an impact when he arrives in Chapel Hill, but with his athleticism and pass protection ability, he certainly has what it takes to factor in at the tackle spots eventually.
With Masterson’s commitment, the Tar Heels class now has seven commitments overall, three of which are offensive linemen. The class now sits inside the top 20 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings for the first time in this cycle at No, 19. The class does remain fifth in the ACC rankings.