Wednesday night was a chance for the Tar Heels to add their first defensive commitment of the 2023 class when 4✮ S Michael Daugherty made his announcement. Unfortunately, the official visit to Chapel Hill wasn’t enough to top what Daugherty saw in Baton Rouge the prior weekend, as he chose LSU over Carolina, Auburn and others. With this miss, some are starting to become concerned about the outlook of the team’s 2023 class and their chances to land a safety in this class. Right now, we’ll focus on where the Tar Heel may get that first defensive commitment from in the class after this miss.
4✮ EDGE Rico Walker- Hickory (Hickory, NC)
Walker has been one of the most frequent 2023 visitors to campus so far and the Tar Heels seem to be in a good spot because of that. This is one that the Tar Heels need to get a commitment from as soon as possible with him starting to visit other schools. So far, he hasn’t taken any official visits, so getting him to take an official to Chapel Hill in the summer would be huge.
3✮ CB Jace Arnold- Marietta (Marietta, GA)
Arnold took a visit to campus for the spring game, his first since he received an offer from the staff back in January. He really seemed to enjoy his visit to campus and he told Don Callahan of Inside Carolina that he is looking into setting an official visit. As of right now, the Tar Heels look like the favorite and if they can get that official visit in this summer and impress, they might be able to lock up that commitment before others can get involved.
3✮ DL Jamaal Jarrett- Grimsley (Greensboro, NC)
Jarrett is set to reveal his top five on May 1st and the Tar Heels are expected to be one of those left in the race. It is still unclear as to whether or not he will be taking official visits over the summer, but with the push that Georgia has made to become the leader, the Tar Heels need to try to get him on campus as often as possible. Clemson will probably be a major factor as well moving forward after he received an offer earlier this week, so the Tar Heels will be in for a fight to try to keep him in-state, but the in-state pull and chance to reunite with Travis Shaw still looks to give them a fighting chance.
3✮ LB Caleb LaVallee- Whitfield Academy (Mableton, GA)
The Tar Heels have already secured an official visit from LaVallee following his official visit a couple of weeks ago. This is important considering that the Tar Heels are the first team to receive an official visit and it will give them the chance to make a strong impression out of the gate. If the Tar Heels can wow him enough, there is a chance that he could be that first defensive target to pop.
3✮ S Zachary Tobe- Ocoee (Ocoee, FL)
Tobe is the guy that the Tar Heel staff should probably feel most confident in right now. He has already scheduled an official visit to campus for the final weekend in June, which is just two weeks before he is scheduled to announce his commitment. Tennessee seems to be attempting to make a push here, but the Tar Heels have to feel pretty comfortable with where they are at right now.