UNC Freak Show: Recruiting notes
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Freak Show, North Carolina's elite camp, has
gained a national reputation as one of the best college camps of the offseason.
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About 70 of the nation's best were on the field in Kenan Memorial Stadium. Some
were hoping earn offers, move up on the coaching staff's recruiting board or to
give their commitment in person.
Two Georgians find their home
Tomon Fox
There are always a few commitments at the Freak Show and Tomon Fox was
the first of two on Saturday. Before warm up drills were over Fox pulled the
coaches aside and told Larry Fedora he wanted to a part of the North
Carolina program. The current Tar Heels all quickly swarmed the defensive end
from Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill and congratulated him. Fox chose the Tar Heels
over Georgia Tech and Tennessee.
The second new Tar Heel was LaGrange, Ga. offensive lineman Luke Elder.
At the end of the camp Fedora always asks the current Tar Heel commits to stand
up in front of the group and asks who will be the next to commit. Fox quickly
joined them after committing earlier in the night and Elder, who didn't
participate in the camp, walked up next. Elder chose the Tar Heels over schools
such as South Carolina, Georgia Tech and many others.
In-state five-stars in attendance
Dexter Lawrence, the top player in the Rivals100, was a little under
the weather and did not participate but seemed to enjoy hanging out with current
players, other prospects and the Tar Heel coaching staff. It seems as though the
defensive end from Wake Forest, N.C. has a renewed interest in North Carolina
because of the new defensive coaching staff. Look for Lawrence to get out on the
Clemson this offseason.
Five-star linebacker Keion Joyner has been to Chapel Hill more than a
few times but he got to see few different things this time. The Havelock, N.C.
star didn't have a chance to really see what the new defensive schemes were
going to be. After seeing the changes, Joyner thinks this could be a positive
year. Another benefit of Joyner's visit on Saturday was that he got to spend
more time with Gene Chizik and build their relationship. He said North
Carolina could be moving up his list. A Florida State visit is in his future.
Tar Heels make the cut
Rivals250 linebacker Koby Quansah enjoyed his second visit to Chapel
Hill with his parents. This time the West Hartford (Conn.) Kingswood Oxford star
got to see more of the school and the education they offer. Chizik made a good
first impression. Over the past couple days Quansah visited Maryland,
and Wake Forest. Saturday evening Quansah released a top ten of Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern,
Notre
Dame and some other Midwest school in late July.
Almost a "Heel Yeah"
Kyree Campbell
People who follow Larry Fedora on Twitter know that every time North Carolina
gets a commitment he tweets out "Heel
Yeah!" There were a couple of players in attendance that almost pulled the
trigger.
The Tar Heels have been one of four-star defensive tackle Kyree Campbell's top contenders for a long time. The Woodbridge (Va.) Woodbridge
Senior star enjoyed the camp and said he hadn't experienced anything like it
before. The thought of committing did cross Campbell's mind but he still wants
to take closer looks at Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. He will
commit on Aug. 3 instead of during the season like he previously said. Campbell
is also looking hard at South Carolina, Auburn, Penn State, Ohio State,
Maryland and Virginia.
There was some buzz before the camp on Saturday that Jonathan Smith
could commit. That proved to be incorrect but the Laurinburg (N.C.) Scotland
County star linebacker has the Tar Heels very high on his list along with Duke,
Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Many people think North
Carolina is the favorite but visits to Duke, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and others
could change that. Look for a commitment to come late in the offseason.
The Mallard Creek invasion
Eric Douglas
The reigning 4AA state champs were well represented in Chapel Hill on Saturday
night. Four-star Eric Douglas was the only one participating. The 2017
offensive lineman picked up offers from South Carolina, Clemson and, most
recently, N.C. State. More are surely coming as he gets out to more schools.
Four-star defensive end/outside linebacker Josh Brown remains committed
to Florida State even though he has taken more than a handful of visits.
Recently he has been to Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Duke and
others. Brown has said he will take all five of his official visits and he is
expected to visit Florida State again in July.
One of the newest additions to the Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek roster,
four-star tight end Thaddeus Moss has offers from pretty much every
school under the sun but has managed to go through the process very quietly.
caught his eye. Florida was a big offer for Moss as well. He is adjusting to his
new school but is expected to take more visits before the season starts.
TJ Moore has been picking up a lot of offers lately. N.C. State is the
2017 offensive lineman's most recent offer and he liked that campus while he was
there for a visit. He was pretty excited about the offer when the coaches told
him about it. Moore also recently visited South Carolina and received an offer
while on campus.
Fast risers
The following players have been on a hot streak lately, picking up offers left
and right over the past couple weeks. North Carolina offered 2017 defensive end
Jake Lawler at their camp on Friday and that's a big one for him
because he grew up a fan of the Tar Heels. N.C. State offered Lawler on Thursday
and seemed to enjoy his trip to the Raleigh campus. Later in the offseason the
Charlotte (N.C.) South Mecklenburg standout might take more visits to the
in-state programs.
Lawler's teammate, Jacobe Clement added a North Carolina offer on
Thursday. The 2017 prospect didn't participate much on Saturday night to help
rest a minor injury but he liked talking to the coaches and players. His offer
from Clemson really surprised him and the Tigers and Tar Heels seem to be in
good position early in the process.
Tyjuan Garbutt has been one of the
hotter prospects in the Mid-Atlantic lately. The Fredericksburg (Va.) Riverbend
standout didn't workout because of a minor injury but enjoyed hanging out with
the players and coaches. The Tar Heels haven't offered yet but an offer should
be coming soon. He likely would have gotten one if he did work out. Garbutt
recently visited West Virginia and will visit N.C. State and West Virginia
again in July.
Major contenders
Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and
Vanderbilt are some of the schools that are sticking out in Jordan Wilson's mind. The athlete out of Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell Academy
has a long offer sheet and is being recruited as a tight end mostly. He talks to
North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Missouri the most and they are his three
leaders as of now.
North Carolina is high on Sulaiman Kamara's list and the visit did a
lot for the Tar Heels. The Richmond (Va.) Hermitage standout wants to visit Penn
State and maybe Alabama in July. Wake Forest and Penn State are some of the
other top schools for Kamara. Don't expect him to announce a commitment in the
near future.
Underclassmen thinking Carolina Blue?
Khalan Laborn
Virginia Beach (Va.) Ocean Lakes running back Khalan Laborn has almost
every big offer in the country but North Carolina is one of the only schools the
2017 Rivals100 prospect has visited multiple times. He will continue his
offseason tour with visits to Florida State and Tennessee in July. Laborn does
not have any favorites yet but the offer from Florida State did catch his eye.
Quarterback Tyler DeSue, also from Ocean Lakes, picked up an early
offer from Virginia before he even got to high school. The 2018 prospect has
been doing a lot of camps this offseason and he has really progressed
physically. At North Carolina he made a good impression on the coaching staff.
He just attended Penn State's satellite camp at Old Dominion on Thursday and
will visit Florida State and Tennessee in July.
Wide receiver J.T. Cauthen enjoyed his time in Chapel Hill on Saturday.
The 2017 prospect out of Waxhaw (N.C.) Cuthbertson has been to the campus a
number of times already and seems to be growing more comfortable. Clemson,
Georgia and Duke are three other schools Cauthen is talking to a lot. Look for
him to visit Auburn and Alabama in July.
Tayon Fleet-Davis is poised for an exciting recruitment.
The 2017 running back out of Oxon Hill (Md.) Potomac will have a long offer
sheet when all is said and done but his most recent offers are from West
Virginia, N.C. State and Toledo. While camping at West Virginia a few
weeks ago he won the running back MVP award and got an offer. Look for him to
visit Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia in July.
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