The Tar Heels concluded the final weekend of official visits on Sunday, concluding one of the craziest months of recruiting in the modern recruiting era following the reopening of in-person recruiting after the COVID dead period. The Tar Heels were able to finish the month of June with a bang thanks to Marcus Allen’s commitment yesterday and they will look for more in the month of July. Here is an update of some of the trends around some of the Tar Heels’ top remaining targets in the 2022 class.
⇧Travis Shaw
Shaw was the talk of the weekend among Tar Heel fans beginning on Friday night when some heavy hitters in the recruiting industry began shifting their opinions on his eventual destination. Adam Friedman of Rivals.com got everyone buzzing on Friday night when he shifted his prediction for Sahw from Clemson to North Carolina and that buzz was heightened even further that night when 247Sports’ Clemson insider Anna Hickey cast her crystal ball for the Tar Heels with a confidence level of eight. Since that time, 247Sports has held steady, but three more Rivals experts have log predictions for the Tar Heels. At the least, the Tar Heels have solidified themselves as a legit contender to land his commitment, but at this point it’s hard not to believe that the Tar Heels may be in the driver’s seat in the experts’ eyes.
⇧Omarion Hampton
Prior to his visit to Chapel Hill, there were rumors that Hampton had been thoroughly impressed by what he had seen at Penn State and this official visit weekend was of heightened importance for the Tar Heels. It seems that the Tar Heels did exactly what they had to do, as they have received two Rivals.com FutureCast predictions this week alone, pairing with the crystal ball he received from 247Sports’ JC Shurburtt the day before he took his official visit. Barring a late change of heart before his July 22nd decision, it looks as if the Tar Heels will head into the decision as the favorite to land his services.
⇧Conner Harrell
The Tar Heels entered Harrell’s official visit as the favorite for his looming decisions and the experts seem to think that they were able to solidify their standing with him this weekend. While 247Sports has stayed put with just the two predictions cast before his visit, Rivals have seen six FutureCast predictions in the Tar Heels favor this week. Harrell will announce his commitment on July 4th and, as of right now, it appears to be all but official that he will be committed to the Tar Heels this weekend.
⇨Jake Pope
The groupthink seems to be that Pope is not far off from his commitment. The good news for the Tar Heels is it doesn’t appear as if this past weekend’s visit to Alabama had the effect that the other three seemed to have, but there is a reason to think it may delay his decision. He narrowed down his decision to five on , including the four schools that he officially visited and the home state Georgia Bulldogs, a team he’d have to wait until the fall to officially visit. If he decides to go ahead and make that decision in the summer, the Tar Heels have to feel good about their chances against the other top team in the race for him, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If he pushes it back, though, there will no doubt be more uncertainty about their shot to land him.
⇨Zach Rice
Tar Heel fans had to feel encouraged about the quick unofficial visit that Rice took to campus before heading to his final official visit last week, but the rave reviews that have come out of his visit to South Bend have him staying put. The Fighting Irish, who entered the month appearing to be in the worst standing for Rice, look to have blown him and his family away and have clouded the picture a bit more here. The Tar Heels were the only team on his top five list that did not receive an official visit, but most people still believe that they are solidly in the race along with the other four programs. Rice’s recruitment might be the hardest one to get a read on at this point, but the promising sign for Tar Heel fans is that most experts appear to think that the staff is still in the thick of this race.
⇨Daylen Everette
The Tar Heels got the final crack at Everette and seemed to hold their position as the slight leader for his services that they held coming into the month. Although he took all five official visits, none really seemed to stand out from the others based on what has been publicized. Any worry that Allen’s commitment may hurt the Tar Heels chances with him appear to be nothing more with him being a blue chip prospect. There is no timetable yet for his commitment, but the Tar Heels still seem to be in a very good spot for his services.