Four-star athlete sets commitment date

Jonathan Paylor, a class of 2024 athlete, has the Tar Heels in his top five.

Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports

The Tar Heels are now on watch to see if they'll land another four-star recruit from their own backyard. 

Jonathan Paylor, a class of 2024 athlete, has set his commitment date for Aug. 5. He'll announce his decision at Cummings High School in Burlington, North Carolina at 2 p.m. 

Paylor, the fourth-best player in North Carolina, per On3, has UNC in his top five along with ACC rival N.C. State, Penn State, Maryland and South Carolina. According 247Sports and On3, the Gamecocks are the favorite to land him. 

At Cummings, the 5-foot-9, 170 pound rising senior has been a versatile offensive threat, lining up as a running back, a receiver or a returner.  

Paylor has elite speed and can break tackles for long runs out of the backfield. He can also outrun coverages, and despite his size, he has the ball skills and the hops to win jump balls. 

According to MaxPreps, Paylor ran in 17 rushing touchdowns and caught five receiving touchdowns his junior year. On special teams, he returned two kick returns and two punt returns, per MaxPreps. 

The four-stars are starting to roll in for head coach Mack Brown and UNC with the commitments of safety Malcolm Ziglar on Monday and receiver Jordan Shipp on Sunday. 

According to 247Sports, the Tar Heels' class of 2024 is ranked 20th in the country. 

Will UNC flip the odds and land Paylor?