It may have been a quieter week around the North Carolina Tar Heels football program, but there are still some storylines that we need to catch you up on. Here are the storylines from this week around Mack Brown’s team.
Big Impression Made with Back-to-Back Junior Day Weekends
While the Tar Heels only received one commitment stemming from the two important weekends, the team made some major progress with many of it’s top 2021 targets. 5✮ DT Payton Page appeared to be very pleased with the visit that he took this past weekend, solidifying the thinking that the Heels and Clemson have a substantial lead for his services. Both 4✮ ATH Gabriel Stephens and 3✮ OLB Raneiria Dillworth released top schools following their visits to campus and both have the Tar Heels solidly near the top of their lists, especially Stephens. 4✮ OT Eli Sutton and 3✮ ILB Dameon Wilson joined those two by placing the Tar Heels in their top school lists as well, both which came out on Wednesday afternoon. 4✮ CB Kamarro Edmonds made it clear that the Tar Heels are his top schools as of right now, making him one of the biggest possibilities to be the next player to commit for the Tar Heels. 4✮ WR Gavin Blackwell seemed to really enjoy his time with Sam Howell on campus and the thinking is that this visit just continued to strengthen the Tar Heels chances. The Tar Heels may have added just one commitment to the 2021 class after these two weekends, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of progress made.
Former Tar Heel Carl Tucker Heading to Alabama
After a successful career at Carolina, graduate senior tight end Carl Tucker has found his transfer destination. The former Charlotte, NC native is heading to play for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide as he announced via social media last Wednesday. In 38 career games at Carolina, Tucker caught 36 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns, but he lost the starting role this past season to Garrett Walston, prompting his transfer. He will have one year of eligibility when he arrives in Tuscaloosa.
Tar Heels Set Up Home and Home with Connecticut in 2026 and 2027
Although it may not be the most attractive matchup, the Tar Heels have set a future home and home series with the Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies, who will be heading to Chapel Hill this upcoming season in 2020, will be in Kenan Stadium again in 2026 before the Tar Heels head to Storrs during the 2027 season. The Tar Heels enter the 2020 season 3-0-0 all-time in program history against the Huskies.
Heels Land PWO OG Chance Carroll
While the expectation is that signing day will be a quiet one on Wednesday, the Tar Heels did add another preferred walk-on commitment to the 2020 class. OG Chance Carroll, a three-year player at Hough High School in Cornelius, NC, committed to the Tar Heels via social media on Monday afternoon. In both of his seasons as a full time starter, Carroll received all-conference honors, and as a junior he was also able to land second team All-Charlotte Observer honors. He was also selected to the Shrine Bowl back in December and had a strong week down in Spartanburg. He has the size to make an impact and even though the star rating might not show it, there is talent there, as well.