ACC Spotlight: Winners and losers of June recruiting
June is now the busiest month of the recruiting calendar and rivals the weeks leading up to signing day in December. There were 105 commitments for the 2024 class in the ACC alone last month and as part of a weeklong series looking at the winners and losers in each Power Five conference, we next move to the ACC.
JUNE RECRUITING REVIEW: Big Ten winners and losers | SEC winners and losers
*****
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer portal player ranking | Transfer portal team ranking | Transfer Tracker | Message board | Team ranking FAQs
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
*****
Winners: North Carolina, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College
North Carolina had a solid eight commitments in June, none bigger than flipping four-star defensive back Zion Ferguson from LSU and then adding four-star linebacker Ashton Woods out of Georgia as well. A few other high three-star defensive players jumped on board as well since scoring points hasn’t been an issue in Chapel Hill but stopping teams has been.
Clemson only had five pledges but they’re all elite players. The Tigers beat Georgia and many others for high four-star linebacker Sammy Brown and went into Texas for elite four-star receiver Bryant Wesco. They also added WR Terrance Moore, DE Darien Mayo and DB Ricardo Jones in June.
No teams were busier in the ACC than Duke and Georgia Tech, which added 14 commitments each throughout the month. Four-star WR Koby Young from New Orleans (La.) Holy Cross and four-star DE Christopher Jackson out of Tucker, Ga., were the big victories for the Yellow Jackets. At Duke, four-star ATH Chase Tyler was the biggest get of the month.
Boston College also deserves some praise for its June run. The Eagles added 12 of their 13 commitments last month and while they didn’t add any four-stars there were a bunch of high threes including TE Benjamin Blackburn, WR Josiah Martin and ATH Desman Stephens.
*****
Losers: Florida State, Wake Forest, Louisville
Florida State had big-time visitors throughout the month. Lots of top prospects were in Tallahassee and it’s very likely many of them will join this recruiting class. But in the rarest of situations, the Seminoles were the only team in the ACC with zero commitments during June. Big names should be coming but when it came only to last month, zilch.
Wake Forest was not much busier when it came to pledges. The Demon Deacons already have 18 total pledges so that’s not bad but only two came in June – three-star offensive linemen Clinton Richard and Jack Hines.
Louisville didn’t make a ton of noise either with just four pledges although high three-star RB Duke Watson was a big addition.
*****
Holding steady: Pittsburgh, Miami, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, NC State, Virginia
An argument could be made for Miami, Pitt and Virginia Tech to be on the winners list since the Hurricanes added four-star commitments from RB Kevin Riley and TE Elija Lofton among their five pledges. The Hokies landed four-star Gabriel Williams and a host of high three-stars and the Panthers loaded up with nine pledges including four-star LB Cameron Lindsey from nearby Aliquippa, Pa.
Syracuse had a very busy month with 13 of its 16 commitments coming in June with TE Jamie Tremble and OL Willie Goodacre leading the way; Four-star all-purpose back Ronnie Royal leads five commitments for NC State; and Virginia had eight pledges but DE Chase Morrison is the lone high three-star.