North Carolina Lands In-State 4-Star Class of 2017 WR Ryan Jones

Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA

The message is getting out about the North Carolina Tar Heels. In Larry Fedora’s fourth year in Chapel Hill, he guided UNC to an 11-3 record winning the ACC Coastal Division finishing with an end of the season AP No. 15 ranking. The Tar Heels signed a Top 25 recruiting class on Wednesday and are making great early strides to another top class in 2017 after getting a verbal commitment from Ryan Jones on Friday.

Jones is an elite wide receiver for Mallard Creek High School. The 6’2”, 200 pound wide out already has double-digit offers with teams like Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Clemson offering. UNC offered Jones back in mid-October landing his verbal commitment just two days after the 2016 class signed.

In 2015, the Mavericks went 14-2 winning a state championship beating Page 49-6 for the title. Mallard Creek avenged an October 31-28 overtime loss to Hough winning 44-0 in the third round of the playoffs on their way to the record book.

The Tar Heels have a great start to their 2017 class with six commitments already on the books. Of the six, three are already considered 4-star prospects; DE Jake Lawler (Charlotte), WR Tyler Smith (Powder Springs, GA), and Jones.

North Carolina 2017 Verbal Commitment List

DE Jake Lawler, 6-3, 225, South Mecklenburg, Charlotte, NC

OL Jonah Melton, 6-4, 290, Eastern Alamance, Mebane, NC

RB Rasheed Martin, 5-6, 166, Trinity Christian HS, Jacksonville, FL

WR J.T. Cauthen, 6-3, 207, Cuthbertson HS, Waxhaw, NC

WR Ryan Jones, 6-2, 200, Mallard Creek HS, Charlotte, NC

WR Tyler Smith, 6-0, 180, McEachern, Powder Springs, GA

Photo credit: seccountry.com; Ryan Jones.