Signing Day 2021 was what stole the headline for the majority of the week around Tar Heel football this week, but once again there were some other pieces of news that flew under the radar. We give you a look at some of the Tar Heel football storylines that you may have missed this week.
Tar Heels Game With Georgia Tech Moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium
The Yellow Jackets agreed to a deal with the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to play one home game each season in the building prior to last season. On Tuesday, the Tar Heels found out that their game scheduled on September 25th was being moved to the neutral location, basically being deemed the biggest home game of the season for the Yellow Jackets in the upcoming 2021 season. The Tar Heels were set to face the Auburn Tigers in the recently rebuilt home of the Atlanta Falcons this past season prior to the COVID-19 rearrangement of the schedule cancelling the matchup. That means this will be the first neutral site meeting for the Tar Heels in Atlanta since their loss to Georgia in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game back in 2016 in the former home of the Falcons, the Georgia Dome. This will also be the second straight road game with the Yellow Jackets that will take place in Atlanta, as the Tar Heels won 38-22 in Bobby Dodd Stadium, the on campus home of the Yellow Jackets, back in 2019.
Tar Heels Land in 2022 Defensive Back’s Top Ten
The Tar Heels landed on yet another top schools list on Friday night when 2022 4✮ DB Marcus Allen revealed the final ten schools that would be competing for his services. The Tar Heels, who offered Allen back in early September, join Auburn, Boston College, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt as the teams that will battle it out the remainder of the way for his services. The Tar Heels have had some nice success with defensive backs in the cycle, already landing a commitment from 4✮ CB Tayon Holloway and making plenty of noise with some other highly touted prospects so far.
Cole Maynard Commits as a PWO
The Tar Heels landed their second walk-on commitment of the 2021 season on Wednesday when punter Cole Maynard committed to the team via social media. The senior at Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina and the son of former NFL punter Brad Maynard is set to play his final season of eligibility starting later this month after a junior season where he handled both kicking and punting duties. Maynard averaged 38.5 yards per punt on his 27 punts, landing nine inside the 20 yard line and had a solid kicking season, as well, knocking through 22 of his 26 extra points, but just two of his seven field goal attempts. His senior season will kick off on February 26th with him expected to hold down both duties once again.
Jace Ruder Headed to North Texas
Ruder, the former 4✮ DUAL from Norton, KS who spent the last three years in Chapel Hill, is the latest Tar Heel transfer to d his new destination. The redshirt sophomore, who has four years of eligibility remaining, announced via social media that he will be heading to North Texas for this upcoming season where he will be eligible immediately following the NCAA’s one time transfer being approved earlier this offseason. As reported by the Denton Record Chronicle, former Tar Heel linebackers coach Mike Ekeler reached out to him after he entered the portal to put him in contact with former Tar Heel offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who arrived at North Texas in 2016 and has had some nice success in Denton. Ruder was reportedly impressed with the offensive system that Littrell has in place, as well, one that has averaged at least 280.0 passing yards per game in each of the past four seasons and saw the development of Mason Fine into one of the Group of 5’s best quarterbacks from 2016 to 2019.
T.J. Logan Gets Super Bowl Ring
The Tar Heels did not have a former player on either active roster on Sunday night, but there is still one former player that will receive a Super Bowl LV ring at the beginning of next season. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa Bay, former Tar Heel running back T.J. Logan will receive a championship ring despite spending the entire season on the team’s IR. Logan tore his patellar tendon back in August during a practice, ending what had been a solid preseason camp for him at that time. This is the third time in his career that he has spent extensive time on the IR and is the second consecutive season that he finishes the year on the injured list.
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