The first week of the summer dead period was supposed to be a quiet week on the recruiting trail for the Tar Heels. Instead, it turned into another action-packed week on the 2020 trail. With the focus of many falling with Malik Hornsby's decommitment and D.J. Jones and Clyde Pinder Jr.’s commitment, you may have missed some other important news around Tar Heel football this week.
Heels Miss on Two WDE’s
With many Tar Heel fans focused on Jones’ commitment on Wednesday afternoon, 4✮ WDE Antwaun Powell and 3✮ WDE Quentin Williams’ commitments flew under the radar, despite all three commitments commits being a total of 38 minutes apart. Powell, the No. 6 WDE in the country, committed to Florida over Carolina, Virginia Tech and others, a decision that shouldn’t have shocked many Tar Heel fans considering they had been battling from behind for the last couple of months. Williams’ decision is a bit more surprising, especially considering he had set his commitment date set for August 10th. Sean Martin and Kaimon Rucker’s recent commitments appear to have played a role in each of their decisions, as does the Heels current standing with 5✮ WDE Desmond Evans.
Kenan Stadium Turf Officially in Place
A process that began on Monday, the artificial turf in Kenan Stadium is officially in place and ready to go for the 2019 season as of Friday afternoon. After a relatively wet spring delayed many of the projects with the outdoor portions of the new practice facilities, the installation of the new RootZone 3D3 Blend synthetic grass surface inside of Kenan took just under two months. The switch to the synthetic turf was announced back on March 25th and is a move that should help prevent injuries and allow Kenan Stadium to host many more athletic events. The Heels are scheduled to play their first game on the new surface on September 7th in the 2019 home opener against Miami.
Aaryn Parks and Jacolbe Cowan to Take Official Visits
Two highly-rated Tar Heel targets announced earlier this week that will be looking to schedule official visits to Chapel Hill sometime over the summer. Parks, who re-opened his recruitment back on June 12th, told Rivals.com’s Adam Friedman that he is seriously considering Carolina as an option and a strong visit later this summer could give the Heels an advantage on what is now a cloudy situation. Cowan, the 4✮ in-state DT, has already begun his official visits with a stop at Ohio State this past weekend and told Friedman that Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee should all get official visits before his decision.
App State and Clemson Games Already Sold Out; Miami Game Almost Sold Out
Attendance numbers for Tar Heel home games have been rough over the last few seasons, but they are off to a phenomenal start for the 2019 season. Individual game tickets for the 2019 season went on sale on Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM and shortly before 1:00 PM it was announced that individual tickets for both the Appalachian State game on September 21st and the Clemson game on September 28th are both sold out. The season opener against Miami on September 7th and the October 26th game against Duke are also closing in on selling out. Mack Brown’s goal to fill Kenan Stadium is off to a nice start.