Femi Babalola is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound pro-style quarterback who attends Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN, who recently stood out at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Indianapolis.
He doesn’t have an offer from North Carolina yet, but could before long, as his recruitment includes Alabama, Clemson, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt going to his high school to watch him throw.
Babalola also reported to THI interest from Virginia, Virginia Tech, UNC, and he will camp at Wake Forest. He will also camp in Chapel Hill to spend a day getting to know and work under quarterbacks’ coach and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.
Babalola talked all things Tar Heels with THI. Here is our full interview with him:
THI: How was Rivals Camp in Indianapolis?
BABALOLA: “It was great. A great experience, I had a lot of fun competing with the guys around me, man. So yeah, it was cool.”
THI: Delve deeper into what you’re currently hearing from Carolina on the recruiting trail.
BABALOLA: “Right now, on the baseline, they’ve had a couple of coaches reach out to (invite me) to the camp this summer, and I’m glad to do that. So, I plan on coming. That’s basically where (my recruitment) is at right now.”
THI: What makes you excited to come camp with the Tar Heels this summer?
BABALOLA: “I mean, just the standard there, you know, and the quarterbacks I’ve seen come through there. It also seems like a great place to be, so I can’t wait to get down there.”
THI: What other aspects do you like about UNC?
BABALOLA: “Well, I haven’t been down there yet myself, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, so, I really just have to check it out for myself. But as far as from what I’ve heard, I’m pretty excited to see it.”
THI: Which coaches have you been able to establish a relationship with thus far at Carolina, and what kind of bond have you created so far with those assistants on the recruiting trail?
BABALOLA: “(Player Personnel Analyst) Ryan Roberts. We haven't talked too much, but I just appreciate him reaching out to me, because not a whole lot of coaches have reached out to me yet. I just appreciate how he reached out to me first, before I reached out to him. I already see that, and that is what I appreciate about him.”
THI: What are your thoughts on the Tar Heels’ pedigree at the quarterback position?
BABALOLA: “Man, I love it. So really, just the standard of quarterbacks that have been through there and the standard of greatness that has been through that campus, from Mitch Trubisky to Sam Howell and Drake Maye. All of those quarterbacks have been through there and excelled. That’s just really setting the bar high for UNC quarterbacks as a whole.”
THI: What are your thoughts on Carolina’s growing presence recruiting in the Nashville area, and how do you think it would be to potentially become part of a growing pipeline of players from the city?
BABALOLA: “It would be great to become part of that in the future. Obviously, I feel like it would be great to connect with anyone from the local area that I might have connected with in the past. So, that would be great to be able to play with them at the next level, because we’ve already created that bond, and we could just grow even more as time goes on. So, anything like that would be awesome.”