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Zach Rice Commits to North Carolina, UVA Loses Battle for Five-Star Offensive Lineman

The top offensive tackle in the country chose UNC over offers from Virginia, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State

Matt Newton

Zach Rice Commits to North Carolina, UVA Loses Battle for Five-Star Offensive Lineman
Zach Rice Commits to North Carolina, UVA Loses Battle for Five-Star Offensive Lineman /

The No. 1 offensive tackle in the country in the class of 2022, Zach Rice, announced his commitment to North Carolina on Thursday night. Rice, who stands at 6’6” and 282 pounds, chose UNC over offers from Virginia, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. 

Rice attends Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia and is the No. 1-ranked player from the state of Virginia and the No. 9-ranked player in the country overall.

Rice received offers from a host of major college football programs including: Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC, Miami, West Virginia, and others. On March 21st, Rice announced his top five of Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Rice made his official visit to Virginia on June 11th and took a photo in a Virginia football uniform alongside Liberty Christian Academy teammate and UVA quarterback commit Davis Lane.

Rice kept the country on edge and did not give any indication on where he was going to decide to go, only announcing last week that he would make his decision live on CBS Sports HQ on Thursday night.

The fact that Virginia was even in the running for Zach Rice is a sign of the tremendous progress the UVA football program has made under Bronco Mendenhall. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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