North Carolina Tar Heels 2021 College Football Recruiting Class Overview
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
Mack Brown is having a very successful second stint as head coach of the Tar Heels as he led his program to an 8-4 record and an Orange Bowl appearance in 2020 after finishing 7-6 in 2019. After winning their first three games, North Carolina rose all the way up to No. 5 in the rankings. Then went 5-3 in their final eight regular-season games with key wins coming against North Carolina State (48-21) on Oct. 24 and at No. 10 Miami (62-26) on Dec. 12. In the Orange Bowl, the Tar Heels fell short to Texas A&M (41-27) but ended up finishing fourth in the ACC.
To continue the upward trend of the program it was imperative that Coach Brown and his staff locked up a solid recruiting class in the early signing period, and that is exactly what they did as they secured letters of intent from 18 talented prospects from all over the region. The highest-rated recruit that signed with the Tar Heels is five-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver, who is also the No. 1 rated prospect in North Carolina.
Four-star quarterback Drake Maye from Charlotte is the number three prospect in the state and should be the quarterback of the future for the program. One recruit who will provide depth on the offensive line is four-star offensive tackle Eli Sutton from Brentwood (TN). A transfer who will make an immediate impact is running back Ty Chandler who is joining the Tar Heels from Tennessee.
Overall, North Carolina signed 10 of the best 18 recruits in their own backyard and it will be exciting to watch these local prospects take this program to even bigger heights.
North Carolina Early Period Signees
DE Keeshawn Silver, 6-6, 275, Rocky Mount HS-Rocky Mount, NC
QB Drake Maye, 6-5, 210, Myers Park HS-Charlotte, NC
LB Raneiria Dillworth, 6-2, 193, Glenn HS-Kernersville, NC
LB Power Echols, 6-1, 206, Zebulon B. Vance HS-Charlotte, NC
DE Jahvaree Ritzie, 6-5, 275, Glenn HS-Kernersville, NC
ATH DeAndre Boykins, 5-11, 200, Central Cabarrus HS-Concord, NC
WR Gavin Blackwell, 5-11, 165, Sun Valley HS-Monroe, NC
ATH Gabe Stephens, 6-3, 205, Mountain Island Charter-Mount Holly, NC
RB Kamarro Edmons, 5-11, 227, Havelock HS-Havelock, NC
OT Eli Sutton, 6-7, 285, Brentwood Academy-Brentwood, TN
S Dontavius Nash, 6-3, 185, Hunter Huss HS-Gastonia, NC
TE Bryson Nesbit, 6-6, 235, South Mecklenburg HS-Charlotte, NC
WR James “JJ” Jones, 6-3, 195, Myrtle Beach HS-Myrtle Beach, SC
WR Kobe Paysour, 6-1, 175, Gaffney HS-Gaffney, SC
OT Diego Pounds, 6-6, 305, Millbrook HS-Raleigh, NC
ATH Tymir Brown, 5-11, 170, Jacksonville HS-Jacksonville, NC
ATH Caleb Hood, 6-2, 232, Richmond HS-Rockingham, NC
DE Trevion Stevenson, 6-3, 220, Phoebus HS-Hampton, VA
Photo credit: Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press; North Carolina Head Coach Mack Brown