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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina isn’t alone with just one committed prospect in its football recruiting class of 2023.
In fact, the Tar Heels are one of nine Power 5 programs to have just one pledge so far. Five P5 programs don’t have any yet, including Virginia and Georgia Tech, both of which are in the ACC Coastal Division along with UNC.
This is a trend, Carolina Coach Mack Brown says, and it is happening almost everywhere.
There are a few outliers: Arkansas has 11 commitments and Texas Tech a whopping 15, but they are the only P5 programs with double-digit numbers of commits for the class of 2023.
“I’ve looked at it because I like to get them all committed in February,” Brown said during a press conference Tuesday at the Kenan Football Center. “That’s been my deal, and right now it’s slower.
“I think in studying it’s slower across the country and people are wanting since COVID is out of the way, they’re actually getting to go take unofficial visits. And it seems like everybody wants to take an unofficial visit then they want to take an official visit before they make their decision. I think a lot of people will be making decisions in May and June.”
Tad Hudson, a 3-star quarterback who attends Hough High School in Cornelius, NC, announced for the Tar Heels on July 31 last summer, not long after UNC held its annual summer cookout that precedes the start of fall camp. Since then, nothing.
In looking around the nation, in addition to the 14 programs with one or no commits, ten have two commits, and ten more have just three. There are 64 teams in Power 5 leagues, plus if you include Notre Dame and BYU as P5 programs, that makes 66. So, 34 of the 66 power programs have three or fewer commits, and May is nearly a week away.
UNC is in the mix with quite a few, but several factors have contributed to the slow start for the Heels.
“Our recruiting is going well,” Brown said. “We had the perfect scenarios last year of the in-state guys and the Virginia guys that committed early. That hasn’t happened yet, but we’re in the middle of a lot of great recruits that we feel like as soon as we start getting official visits, those will start falling into place.
“But we feel like that we’ve got a good list, and we’re recruiting well.”
Part of Carolina’s delay in getting more kids to pop is that it had three significant coaching changes in the offseason. Two on defense, as Gene Chizik and Charlton Warren brought a new scheme. So, some of the kids being targeted to play in Jay Bateman’s scheme no longer fit what Chizik wants to employ.
In addition, offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. joined the staff right as spring practice was commencing in early March, so the staff had to quickly re-evaluate some o-line targets, shifting gears there in some cases as the defensive staff.
UNC has played from behind for a while, but Brown senses they are starting to catch up with where they should be at this stage.
“I think we are,” he said. “It’s amazing every now and then (general manager) Pat Suddes will come say, ‘I got one they want you to watch,’ and I’d say, ‘Really. He needs to be good and he needs to want to come because this is getting late in the process.’
“But I do think because it’s a unique year. Covid (and) coaching changes that’s what made it a little slower.”
Carolina isn’t alone, though, as the numbers below show.
Power 5 Commitment Numbers
Zero Commits: Virginia, Kansas, Arizona State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech.
One Commit: Washington State, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, UCLA, UNC, Ole Miss, TCU, California.
Two Commits: Oregon State, Washington, Maryland, Utah, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Purdue, Oregon, Auburn.
Three Commits: Syracuse, Kansas State, Duke, Indiana, NC State, Stanford, Mississippi State, Texas, Alabama, Clemson.
Four Commits: Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Minnesota, Arizona, Oklahoma, LSU, USC.
Five Commits: BYU, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Nebraska, Miami.
Six Commits: Wake Forest, Northwestern, Iowa State, West Virginia, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Texas A&M.
Seven Commits: Boston College, Iowa.
Eight Commits: Tennessee, Georgia.
Nine Commits: Colorado, Baylor, Louisville, Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame.
11 Commits: Arkansas
15 Commits: Texas Tech
