Momentum Keeps Building for UNC Football

Can anything stop Mack Brown and company? A look into Carolina's rise to the top of the recruiting boards

Last Friday afternoon, Carolina football fans received quite a pleasant surprise.

2021 four-star linebacker RaRa Dillworth had set his commitment time for 4 p.m. and had cut his list to UNC and Alabama. Many thought it would be the next big get for the Tar Heels on what has been impressive run on the recruiting trail.

Much to the pleasure of those in Chapel Hill, the junior from Glenn High School (Kernersville, NC) took his jacket off to reveal Carolina blue. What came next is what really ignited the flame. Dillworth called into frame Jared Wilson, a guard out of West Forsyth, who is rated as one of the best linemen in North Carolina. Wilson announced that he, too, was committing UNC.

Dillworth is one of the best athletes in the country. Though he will most likely need to add weight and strength to his frame for the college level, his speed and knack for the game are sensational. Dillworth totaled more than 200 tackles last season, with 107 of those being solos. He also managed to score three defensive touchdowns on the year.

Wilson, who had decommitted from Georgia in February, stands at an impressive 6'4" and 325 pounds. Though he had shown significant interest in the Heels, he did not announce a decision date. Dillworth and Wilson are the 13th, and 14th commits for Mack Brown.

With these two joining the list, North Carolina currently has the number one recruiting class in the ACC, according to 247 Sports. Only Ohio State is above them in the national rankings.

It has been talked about constantly by analysts and Mack Brown himself; it starts in North Carolina. It has been a perfect storm for UNC because this happens to be one of the best crops of talent the state has seen in recent history.

Dillworth became the 10th four-star recruit for Carolina just in their home state. Eli Sutton, a 6'7" offensive tackle from Brentwood, TN, is the only current recruit who isn't from NC.

Not to mention this is the second time in just two months that they have won a recruiting battle against college football titans Alabama. In March, the Tar Heels flipped Drake Maye from the Crimson Tide. This continues the Maye legacy in Chapel Hill, with his father playing quarterback in the 80s and his older brother being 2018 All-American Luke Maye.

Mack Brown and staff have dedicated a lot of work into recruiting, but so have the players and commits. Immediately after committing, Dillworth tweeted at fellow his teammate and fellow four-star talent Jahvaree Ritzie. 2020 commit Ray Rose is another player that has been busy recruiting on social media. Though this is only a minor aspect of what goes into a decision, it shows that these recruits are buying what the Heels are selling right now.

An interesting test in recruiting still awaits UNC. Several of North Carolina's top talents are still uncommitted and are being heavily recruited by the nation's top schools.

The top two names that fans are watching like hawks are Will Shipley and Payton Page. Shipley is rated as the top all-purpose running back in the country, and the buzz has his name trending towards Clemson and Notre Dame. The Weddington (Matthews, NC) prospect was named the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year in December. He has not discussed a favorite school but has offered a list of Notre Dame, Clemson, Stanford, NC State, and UNC as his top schools.

Page is a four-star DT out of Dudley (Greensboro, NC), and recently announced a top three of Tennessee, Clemson, and UNC. He has had a lot of attention from Clemson, and many expect that's where he will end up. However, if North Carolina can continue riding this wave, they might be able to offer a package that Page can't pass up.

It is no surprise that Clemson is consistently a top competitor for UNC in the state, but it is going to play a significant role in how the Tar Heels assert themselves moving forward. Given Clemson's proximity and immense success, it is going to be a tough task to keep the Tigers at bay.

There is plenty of time remaining in this recruiting cycle, and a lot can change in a few months. However, Tar Heel fans have a reason to be optimistic. Their team is trending in the right direction, and it doesn't look to be stopping.