UNC Football: National Signing Day Live
It's the most magical day of the year for fax machines and high school football stars alike.
At 7 a.m. local time, committed players can begin signing their National Letters of Intent and transmitting them to schools.
Heading into Wednesday morning, North Carolina and Mack Brown are feeling good, as 25 of 26 players committed to the Tar Heels for the Class of 2020 are expected to sign on Tuesday, with 12 expected to enroll early.
As of now, Carolina's class ranks 17th nationally and third in the ACC according to 247 Sports, and will go down as one of the program's best recruiting hauls of all-time.
Check in all day for live updates and analysis as future Tar Heels put pen to paper and coverage from Brown's press conference at 3 p.m. when he'll discuss a class that features seven four-star recruits and 15 in-state players.
Carolina will also host its Signing Day Celebration at 6 p.m. in the Blue Zone Concourse Club.
UNC has a full roster of signees as they come in, too.
Throughout the day, we'll update the full recruiting chart below:
| Position | Player | School/Hometown | National Position Rank | Signed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | Desmond Evans | Lee County / Sanford, NC | 2 | SIGNED |
DE | Myles Murphy | Dudley / Greensboro, NC | 6 | SIGNED |
DT | Kendrick Bingley-Jones | Providence Day / Charlotte, NC | 13 | SIGNED |
S | Ja'Qurious Conley | Northside / Jacksonville, NC | 13 | SIGNED |
WR | Josh Downs | North Gwinnett / Suwanee, Ga. | 36 | SIGNED |
S | Cameron Roseman-Sinclair | Myers Park / Charlotte, NC | 23 | SIGNED |
QB | Jacolby Criswell | Morrillton / Morrillton, Ark. | 11 | SIGNED |
WR | Ray Rose | South Point / Belmont, NC | 66 | SIGNED |
TE | John Copenhaver | Roswell / Roswell, Ga. | 16 | SIGNED |
DT | Clyde Pinder | Armwood / Seffner, Fla. | 41 | SIGNED |
ILB | Ethan West | Cosby / Midlothian, Va. | 22 | SIGNED |
OT | Trey Zimmerman | Roswell / Roswell, Ga. | 48 | SIGNED |
TE | Kendall Karr | Stuart Cramer / Cramerton, NC | 28 | SIGNED |
OT | Cayden Baker | Fort Myers / Fort Myers, Fla. | 53 | SIGNED |
OG | Jonathan Adorno | Rolesville / Rolesville, NC | 49 | SIGNED |
WR | Tylee Craft | Sumter / Sumter, SC | 126 | SIGNED |
RB | D.J. Jones | Pine Forest / Fayetteville, NC | 57 | SIGNED |
TE/QB | Jefferson Boaz | East Surry / Pilot Mountain, NC | 40 | SIGNED |
DE | AJ Beatty | Central Catholic / Pittsburgh, Pa. | 48 | SIGNED |
ATH | Cedric Gray | Ardrey Kell / Charlotte, NC | 56 | SIGNED |
WR | Stephen Gosnell | East Surry / Pilot Mountain, NC | 141 | SIGNED |
RB | Elijah Green | Blessed Trinity Catholic / Roswell, Ga. | 64 | SIGNED |
OG | Malik McGowan | Charlotte Catholic / Charlotte, NC | 83 | SIGNED |
RB | Elijah Burris | Mountain Island Charter / Mount Holly, NC | 87 | |
DE | Kaimon Rucker | Hart County / Hartwell, Ga. | 78 | SIGNED |
CB | Jayden Chalmers | Lee County / Sanford, NC | 143 | SIGNED |
UNC Commits By State
North Carolina (15), Georgia (5), Florida (2), Arkansas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia
UNC Commits By Position
Quarterback (2), Running Back (3), Wide Receiver (7), Offensive Line (4), Defensive Line (6), Linebacker (2), Defensive Back (3)
ACC Class Rankings as of Midnight, Dec. 18
1. Clemson, 2. Miami, 3. UNC, 4. Georgia Tech, 5. Florida State, 6. Louisville, 7. Pittsburgh, 8. N.C. State, 9. Virginia, 10. Wake Forest, 11. Syracuse, 12. Boston College, 13. Duke, 14. Virginia Tech.
National Rankings as of Midnight, Dec. 18
1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. LSU, 4. Ohio State, 5. Texas A&M, 6. Georgia, 7. Florida, 8. Oklahoma, 9. Auburn, 10. Texas, 11. Michigan, 12. Penn State, 13. Notre Dame, 14. Washington, 15. Miami, 16. Oregon, 17. UNC, 18. South Carolina, 19. Nebraska, 20. Tennessee, 21. Stanford, 22. Mississippi State, 23. Kentucky, 24. Georgia Tech, 25. Iowa.
UPDATES
Jefferson Boaz was the first player in this morning for UNC, with the Tar Heels posting his signing at 7:10 a.m.
The 6-8, 240-pound Boaz is an intriguing prospect who was originally viewed by some as a tight end.
That changed a bit when he went out and completed 233 of 314 pass attempts for 4,615 yards, 65 touchdowns and six interceptions in leading East Surry to a state championship last weekend, teaming with fellow Carolina signee Stephen Gosnell and Landon Stevens, who plans to join the program as a preferred walk-on.
As of 9:35 a.m., only five signatures are outstanding: John Copenhaver, Clyde Pinder, Kendall, Karr, Elijah Burris and Elijah Green.
It's expected that one player won't sign today, so there should be four more NLIs submitted today.
With a late push from Florida, Pinder might have the biggest decision to make.
A cool family connection for Dre Bly and Josh Downs:
9:47 a.m. — Kendall Karr and John Copenhaver are signed, leaving Burris, Green and Pinder on the board for the Tar Heels.
9:57 a.m. — Elijah Green's letter is in, meaning Pinder and Burris are the remaining unsigned commits. It's probable that neither will sign today.
Losing Pinder would be a tough break, considering the loss of Jason Strowbridge and Aaron Crawford up front.
Still a chance Pinder makes a call tonight.
3:05 p.m. — Good afternoon from Mack Brown's Signing Day press conference.
UNC's early enrollees: Jonathan Adorno, Kedrick Bingley-Jones, John Copenhaver, Tylee Craft, Jacolby Criswell, Josh Downs, Cedric Gray, DJ Jones, Kendall Karr, Cameron Roseman-Sinclair, Ethan West, Trey Zimmerman.
Mack, talking about linebacker Cedric Gray, says he's most impressed with how aggressive he plays the game.
On DJ Jones: "It's very unusual that a running back runs routes like this."
On Kendall Karr: "Big guy. He can really run." Says he missed his senior season with an injury, but he'll be ready to go for spring practice.
On Trey Zimmerman: Will not go through spring practice due to shoulder injury, but will be in Chapel Hill to rehab.
On Cayden Baker: "He can run and he will hit you. You love to have basketball players at those positions because of their athletic ability."
On Jefferson Boaz: "We'll give him a chance to play quarterback ... if it doesn't work out at quarterback for him, he can be a great NFL quarterback like Deems May."
Mack: "We feel like we've improved in both lines of scrimmage."
Versatility was an emphasis in this class. Mack now quoting legendary coach Dick Tomey as giving him the belief that you have to get players who can fit in multiple spots to give them a better chance at succeeding in college.
On February signing day possibilities, Mack says they don't have to sign anyone else, but they'll consider great players + grad transfers. Need to be judicious with scholarships ahead of a great 2021 class in North Carolina.
Mack: "We've got to keep at least three quarterbacks that can play on our campus."
