Showtime Packed With Storylines
CHAPEL HILL – After not having a camp season last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mack Brown Showtime Camp was back Saturday evening at the Bill Koman Practice Complex, and it was filled with plenty of prospects mostly from the class of 2023.
Originally slated for Kenan Stadium, the outdoor football part of the event was moved inside North Carolina’s indoor practice facility because of temperatures approaching 100 degrees.
Approximately 70 prospects were on hand, most of whom don’t have offers from UNC. Four of the Tar Heels’ five committed prospects for the class of 2022 were on hand. Beau Atkinson, Tayon Holloway, Tychaun Chapman, and Trevyon Green were here. Malaki Hamrick was unable to attend because he was participating in a 7-on-7 event.
At the time of publication for this piece, nobody committed, but there were a couple of offers that went out following the camp and some more may come over the next couple of days. Chris Culliver, a class of 2023 wide receiver who attends Maiden (NC) High School was offered at the end of the session.
He and some of his family spent some time speaking with Mack Brown after the camp session, even posing for multiple photos, and later he posted on Twitter that he had been offered. Culliver, who is 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, has also been offered by Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, and Coastal Carolina, among others.
A couple of intriguing 2022 prospects were on hand. Conner Harrell, a 3-star class of 2022 quarterback who attends Thompson High School in Alabaster, AL, had a terrific performance and also spent a great deal of time with Brown after the camp concluded. In fact, several family members were with him and they took multiple photos with the UNC coach and were the last people to leave the facility.
Harrell’s arm strength was obvious, not just from a long-ball perspective, but he regularly threw tight, sharp balls over the middle. At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, he bore a similar resemblance to Jacolby Criswell, the second-year UNC backup quarterback who stood out at this event two years ago.
UNC will take a fairly small class, perhaps capping at 14, though it would go over the number for certain high-level prospects. Taking a quarterback was once considered unlikely, but with Sam Howell moving on after this coming season and the chance that one of the three backups could hit the transfer portal, the UNC staff most likely wants another scholarship QB to beef up the room.
Among Harrell’s 29 offers are from Michigan, Miami, Arizona State, Auburn, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Louisville. Harrell recently visited ASU and Northwestern, and this could be a battle between the Tar Heels and Wildcats.
Running back Mahki Hughes stood out from his group because he’s fast, runs low with excellent balance, and is strong. He is built like a combination of a sprinter and Power 5 running back. As a 3-star prospect, he has eight offers, including from Florida State, Auburn, Houston and Kansas. Hughes’ trainer, Leonard Stevens of Step By Step Sports Training in Birmingham, AL, also trained UNC running backs coach Larry Porter’s son, Omari, who now plays at Stanford.
Hughes was at Virginia Tech on Friday and was hoping to make an impression to the UNC staff Saturday. A Carolina offer is uncertain at this time, but that was certainly Hughes’ mission in taking part of Showtime.
A few other prospects who stood out from the class of 2023: Culliver, who was offered and noted above; WR Kevin Concepcion; ATH Rico Walker; CB Braylon Johnson; QB Tad Hudson; DL Jamaal Jarrett; OL Monroe Freeling; Alex “Sonny” Styles, and OL Joshua Miller, who is teammates with 2022 UNC commit Treyvon Green. There were others, as well.
Camp registration opened at 1 pm and over the next five hours, prior to the campers hitting the field, a BBQ lunch, games of cornhole, an intro to the staff, and groups rotated doing photo shoots while the others took part in scavenger hunts and toured the Kenan Football Center.
The football aspect of the camp lasted about two hours and included stretching, station drills, position group work, and finally some competition between linemen as well as the QBs passing to receivers being covered by defensive backs. That was a highly competitive segment.
Stay with THI as we roll out a bevy of content from Showtime, including ISO videos of some key prospects, podcasts, interviews with some players and more.