4-Star LB Has UNC On Radar

The state of Delaware produces about seven Division One football prospects a year. But in the class of 2017, Concord High School in Wilmington, DE, has an outside linebacker that UNC is quite interested in.

Avery Roberts is a 6-1, 213-pound talent being pursued by a lot of heavy hitters, among them are the Tar Heels, who offered him in October. In regular contact with linebackers coach John Papuchis, Roberts is intrigued by all that Carolina has to offer.

“Great school the football program is on the rise,” Roberts told THI. “They are building something special there.”

UNC was on Roberts’ radar before the season started, and certain when the offer was extended. But as the Tar Heels kept winning and became a national story, his interest in the program grew.

“After the great season they just had I'm definitely interested enough to see what they have to offer,” he said.

Roberts, the No. 1 prospect in Delaware and No. 15 at his position nationally, hopes to visit UNC at some point, and he’s had conversations with Papuchis about when would be good times to come down. He visited Maryland for a game this past season, but that’s it because most of Concord’s games are on Saturdays, which will be the case next fall. So, Roberts likely will only see UNC and Chapel Hill without a game being involved.

That’s where camps come in.

He intends on attending the Rivals camp in Maryland, but hasn’t lined up any other Rivals camps or team camps yet. With a personal emphasis this offseason on “getting bigger and stronger” and improving his “linebacker techniques,” going to as many camps as possible could be the route he takes. That could lead him to Chapel Hill.

An element that UNC offers that helps elevate the school in Roberts’ mind is the academic reputation of the school. It also doesn’t hurt that Carolina has put its share of players in the NFL, either.

“I want to go somewhere to get a good education and a football program that puts me in position to make it to the NFL,” he acknowledged.

Some of the schools that have also offered Roberts are Clemson, Arizona State, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, and Virginia Tech. But Roberts hasn’t made a list yet, he remains in a fact finding mission.

“I'm still open to a lot of different schools,” he said.

Including Carolina.