Heels enroll Five
Chapel Hill, N.C. - UNC head coach Butch Davis welcomed five incoming student-athletes to the Tar Heel football program Monday, including four freshmen and one junior college transfer.
Freshmen Marquise Williams, T.J. Thorpe, Landon Turner and Travis Riley all graduated early from high school before arriving to campus this weekend.
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Sylvester Williams, a defensive tackle from Coffeyville Community College (Kan.), also arrived in Chapel Hill this weekend and will join the four freshmen as part of the 2011 recruiting class.
Marquise Williams is considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. He is listed as the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals.com and the No. 12 overall quarterback by Scout.com.
As a senior at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, he completed 170 of 254 attempts (67 percent) for 3,034 yards, 45 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He also rushed for 1,147 yards and 19 more scores and was named the area offensive player of the year and conference offensive player of the year.
Thorpe is a versatile wide receiver from nearby Jordan High School in Durham. He missed part of his senior season with an ankle injury, but in 2009 caught 55 passes for 950 yards and five touchdowns.
He is rated the No. 14 athlete in the country by Rivals.com.
Turner was one of the most sought after offensive linemen in the country, and is a member of Rivals.com's top 250 players in the country.
Turner recently played in the prestigious US Army All-American Bowl.
Riley is 6-1, 210-pound athlete out of A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, N.C. He rushed for 1,924 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior and was named area player of the year.
He injured his knee as a senior, but still was selected to the Shrine Bowl.
Sylvester Williams played just one season of football as a senior at Jefferson City (Mo.) High School before taking a year off.
He walked-on to Coffeyville's football team, earned a scholarship, and played well enough to earn honorable-mention All-America honors.
He also earned first team all-conference and first team all-region recognition.
In eleven games he had 52 tackles, including 12.5 for a loss and two sacks, two pass break-ups, a forced fumble, and five blocked kicks.
Williams has two years of eligibility remaining, plus a redshirt season if necessary.