After a hectic weekend on the recruiting trail, this past week was a relatively quiet week on the football front for the Heels. Even with that, there are still a few storylines that you may have missed as you were celebrating the holidays with your family. Let’s take a look at the top storylines around the Heels as we get ready to enter the New Year.
Jason Strowbridge Officially Returning for Senior Season
Rotoworld officially announced on Sunday that Strowbridge was returning for his senior season. While this may not come as a surprise to many, Strowbridge is coming off the best season of his career, finishing with 36 total tackles, 8.0 tackles for a loss and 5.0 sacks. With Strowbridge’s return officially being announced, the Heels will return both of their projected starters from a year ago, prior to Aaron Crawford’s injury in fall camp. Now the key will be for the staff to add depth behind the two senior starters.
5✮ OT Announces He Will Take an Official Visit to Chapel Hill
When the winter dead period officially ends on January 10th, the name that everyone will come out on the other side talking about will be 5✭ OT Darnell Wright. Wright was speaking with various recruiting sites while at the Under Armour All-American game and laid out the teams he expects to take an official visit to. The Heels are one the list and according to Adam Friedman of Rivals.com, Wright likes what he’s seen from Mack Brown. His connection to current Heels offensive lineman Billy Ross continues to be one of the main reasons the Heels have hung around in his recruitment. If the Heels can lean on that and impress him when he meets offensive line coach Brandon Jones for the first time, there is a chance the Heels could have a fighting chance in his recruitment.
Sam Howell Headed to San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Game
This Saturday will the official end to the high school football season, as the Heels top commit of the early signing period and possible starting quarterback for next season will participate in the U.S. Army All-American game. Howell struggled a bit in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, so this would be a great chance for him to enter spring off of a strong performance in one of the nation’s most prestigious high school all-star games.