CHAPEL HILL – Kaimon Rucker will indeed be back in a North Carolina uniform next season.

Rucker, a member of UNC’s recruiting class of 2020 and a regular in the defensive rotation as a true freshman, has decided to use the Covid year and return for one more season. He made the announcement Friday on Twitter.

At first, he said he was heading to the NFL, started to walk off, then stuck his face back into the camera and said the following:

"Actually, you know what, I kind of lied," he said. "College football, they ain’t ready yet for The Butcher to leave yet, so I’m going to come back for one more year.”

Rucker hinted at returning last week when he met with the media after practice. But also said a decision hadn’t yet been made. He still had to work through it.

“It’s not really anything logistic I can go into right now,” he said. “It’s just me and my family and a lot of different factors, and we’re trying to decide what’s best for me right now.”

At 6-foot-1.5, and 265 pounds, Rucker isn’t quite the prototype for an NFL outside linebacker or edge rusher, which is what he is as Carolina’s jack on defense. But he was highly productive this season.

He was third on the team with 56 tackles, 14 of which were TFLs, 8.5 of which were sacks. Rucker also forced a fumble, recovered one, was credited by PFF for 39 hurries, 33 STOPs (plays that result in failures for the offense), a PBU, just eight missed tackles (15.1 percent), and a defense-leading 81.5 grade.

For his efforts, Rucker was named Second-Team All-ACC this fall.

“I had a relatively good season,” Rucker said. “Second-team honors, stuff like that. Of course, I would have loved to have been higher, but it is what it is, I don’t make decisions.”

Rucker has played 2,074 snaps at UNC with 144 tackles, 29.5 TFLs, 16 sacks, 84 hurries and 91 STOPs.