CHAPEL HILL – Kaimon Rucker might 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, can use the Covid year and return for one more season. Not only is he playing in the Tar Heels’ game versus West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on December 27, he also swung the door open to returning for next fall.

“Yeah, I’ll take the covid year,” Rucker said, after hinting at having another crack at NC State next season. “I’m considering my fifth right now. Right now I have a lot of options. I’m surveying those options, but I am heavily leaning toward a fifth right now.”

But when asked to clarify his words and speak to the process he will take to finally, fully make that decision, Rucker gave a more guarded response.

“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 doesn’t 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.