Two of the Tar Heels' remaining offensive line targets revealed where they will play their college football this weekend and, unfortunately for the Tar Heels, neither one will be heading to Chapel Hill. 2023 3✮ OT Koby Keenum announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon and that was followed up on Sunday with 2023 3✮ OT Kamen Smith announcing his decision to head to NC State. Keenum was one that seemed expected, but Smith was a guy that the Tar Heels had turned the heat up on and clearly wanted to add to this class. It appears that the staff is still wanting to add at least one other piece to this class along the offensive line with all that is departing and there are still a few prospects that the team seems to be recruiting to potentially fill that spot. Here is a look at where the Tar Heels stand with the rest of their targets on the offensive side of the trenches.
4✮ IOL Markee Anderson- Dorman (Roebuck, SC)
Anderson is the guy to who most fans are probably turning their attention now and the staff likely has him high on that board of remaining targets, especially with his high school teammate D.J. Geth now committed to the class. South Carolina has to feel good about where they sit with him right now, but the fact that he has not committed yet following his official visits to all four of his finalists, including the Gamecocks to close out the month, seems to point to the fact that there is still work to be done here. For the Tar Heels, the goal should be to get him to join Geth on campus at the Tar Heel Cookout event at the end of July and continue to pitch the idea of continuing to play with him at the college level. There is no doubt the Tar Heels have their work cut out for them here, but I would be shocked if this isn’t where a majority of the focus is placed now barring a new offer.
4✮ OT Stanton Ramil- Thompson (Alabaster, AL)
Speaking of targets that could be reuniting with high school teammates, Ramil, the high school teammate of current Tar Heel freshman quarterback Conner Harrell, is another name who could receive some added attention after this weekend. The Tar Heels hosted him back on June 8th for an official visit, so they have that box checked, but that visit didn’t really seem to do much damage to the team that is seen as the favorite for him, in-state Auburn. The longer this one goes, the better for the Tar Heels, but this is one that just feels a little far-fetched at this time.
4✮ OT Oluwatosin Babalade- DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD)
This is the recruitment that is probably the cloudiest of the ones that we will talk about here, as no one has really taken control of this after a month full of official visits. The Tar Heels are still hanging around in this recruitment after their official visit back on May 20th along with in-state Maryland, Ohio State, Rutgers and South Carolina, all of whom had their shots to host him for an official visit in the month of June. With a July 31st decision scheduled, he will have one more chance to visit a school prior to his decision, one that will likely be the precursor to his commitment. It will be interesting to see how much the Tar Heels push to get that visit.
3✮ OT Paul Mubenga- Buford (Buford, GA)
We put Mubenga on this list because the team did host him for an official visit, but it does appear that the Tar Heels are all but out of this one at this point. To be fair, a big part of that is the fact that Michigan seems to be the overwhelming favorite and has been since his official visit there back on the weekend of June 10th. It is interesting that he has not committed to this point, but with him scheduled to go back to Ann Arbor at the end of the month, it’s hard to see this going in any other direction, especially the Tar Heels, right now.