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PILOT MOUNTAIN, NC – Benji Gosnell is one of the top football prospects in North Carolina for the class of 2022 and already has a deep connection to the UNC football program.

His brother, Stephen, is a freshman wide receiver for the Tar Heels, so Benji not only understands the recruiting process quite well, he has a regular inside look at Mack Brown’s program.

Gosnell is a 4-star tight end/linebacker at East Surry High School and owns an impressive offer sheet. Among the schools that have extended the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder offers are Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida and, of course, UNC.

THI recently caught up with Gosnell at his high school to see how his recruitment is going and get his thoughts on UNC:

Q: Coming off winning a state championship, what is the outlook for the Cardinals this season?

GOSNELL: “Goal’s the same, it’s not changing. We lost a lot of good people but we’re also bringing a lot of good people back. We have the tools to do what coach wants us to do. We’ve got a strong line, we’ve got good arms at quarterback, tall, long receivers, tough defense, a lot of DBs coming back, linebackers. We’ve got the tools, we’ve just got to work.”

Q: Well, you’re one of the top recruits in North Carolina in the class of 2022. I always have to ask about recruiting, what schools have been very interested in you? I know you have a good offer list.

GOSNELL: “I would say the ones who have contacted me the most is probably a tie between Penn State and Ohio State. I talk to Coach Bowens from Penn State and Coach Wilson from Ohio State at least twice a week. They’re always staying in contact with me, always checking up on me, always seeing how I’m doing. We’re always talking, always making contact. I talk with Coach (Jovan) Dewitt from UNC about every other week. We stay in contact. I would say those three – Florida, Coach Brewster from Florida. Those are the main ones.”

Q: Out of those schools, what position are they recruiting you as because you are a very versatile athlete at tight end and linebacker?

GOSNELL: “Penn State, Ohio State and Florida all like me as a tight end, they’re all tight end coaches. UNC, their linebacker coach, Coach Dewitt, is recruiting me. I’ve even had a text from Coach (Jay) Bateman saying ‘Hey’ to me – their defensive coordinator. So that was kind of cool. UNC, mainly linebacker and defense, but they’ve also said I could play tight end if I wanted to. And hey, if I got as fast as Stephen, maybe wide receiver.”

Q: Of course, Stephen is a UNC football player, has it helped having an older brother go through the recruiting process?

GOSNELL: “It has. I kind of know what to expect (with) what he went through. Of course, I started just a tad bit early, partly because of him and him helping me get a little exposure there. But yeah, it’s been a lot easier because I knew what to expect because he went through it. It was kind of tough for him at the very end when he started to make his decision, so I know what to expect there. It can be a little stressful.”

Q: Focusing on North Carolina, you said you’ve talked to some of the coaches, what are some things about UNC that you like, and what things have you see Mack Brown and the staff do to improve football at UNC?

GOSNELL: “I think the numbers speak for itself. Coach Brown came in there and took a two-win season team to a seven-win increasing it by five games. He did that all in half a year. It’s amazing to me what he can do the next two or three years with all the talent he’s getting and that he already has with Sam Howell only being a sophomore and his receivers back. It’s really fun to watch, especially that defense. Chazz Surratt at linebacker – when you’re a linebacker at UNC and seeing how they turned a quarterback to a linebacker, that shows you the really good development they can produce out of a linebacker and a defensive player.”

Q: Any timetable on when you want to release a top list or maybe make a decision?

GOSNELL: “Yeah, so I actually hit my friend up the other day and had him make me a top four or five list of schools. Those four or five list of schools I’ve really been focusing on and I think I might drop that at the end of the next month whenever I can get down to a certain school. Usually, I tell people maybe my time commitment will be next year, next June. But, I think that for me right now, those other couple of schools are being so centralized and I’m really leaning towards a couple. I don’t think it’ll be that long, it could be as soon as December when I commit or as soon as maybe even November.”