Twelve members of North Carolina’s highly-rated class of 2021 will enroll on Jan. 16, among them 4-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver.

Known as perhaps the lead recruiter among the players comprising the class, or the “ring leader” as he’s been called, Silver will formally be at UNC in less than two weeks, have his own locker, gear and begin the process of building into a North Carolina football player. And he can’t wait.

At 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Silver is the No. 85 overall prospect nationally, including fifth at his position. He’s the No. 5 prospect in loaded North Carolina.

The Rocky Mount native committed to UNC March 3, 2020, and signed Dec. 16. He will also have a chance at walking on to Roy Williams’ basketball team, something that excites the high school power forward very much.

“He said he’s going to give me a chance,” Silver told THI. “So, I’m going to play.”

Mack Brown heaped plenty of praise on Silver during his signing day press conference last month.

“Probably his expertise (was) being a pass rusher in high school.," Brow said, when describing what he likes most about Silver. "Keeshawn at 6-5 and 275 gives us a lot of ability to penetrate and disrupt passers… This is a big man to move this fast. And he and Jahvaree will both be here for spring practice. Again, watch him run a quarterback down from behind…

"Again, it’s hard to believe he’s 6-5, and he plays tight end some. He’ll be wanting some catches. And also wanted to look at a couple of shots of him dunking a basketball just to show his explosive power and his leaping ability… And if it works for him, he’d also like to play on our basketball team.”

As THI continues talking with the early enrollees, we reached out to Silver for one final interview before he’s entrenched in Mack Brown’s program. Here is that discussion: