Zach Rice Commits to North Carolina, UVA Loses Battle for Five-Star Offensive Lineman

The No. 1 offensive tackle in the country in the class of 2022, Zach Rice, announced his commitment to North Carolina on Thursday night. Rice, who stands at 6’6” and 282 pounds, chose UNC over offers from Virginia, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

Rice attends Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia and is the No. 1-ranked player from the state of Virginia and the No. 9-ranked player in the country overall.

Rice received offers from a host of major college football programs including: Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC, Miami, West Virginia, and others. On March 21st, Rice announced his top five of Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, North Carolina, and Virginia.

TOP 5 the official Visits I will be taking also ! Thank u God pic.twitter.com/csyiwGgqxB
— ZACH RICE (@od_zach) March 21, 2021

Rice made his official visit to Virginia on June 11th and took a photo in a Virginia football uniform alongside Liberty Christian Academy teammate and UVA quarterback commit Davis Lane.

Class of 2022 five-star uncommitted OT Zach Rice and UVA QB commit Davis Lane taking photos during there UVA visit this weekend. pic.twitter.com/NMx6NcfAnK
— 336 Edits (@336Edits) June 12, 2021

IM HERE CHARLOTTESVILLE #GoHoos HA⚔️OC @blackie_belew
— ZACH RICE (@od_zach) June 11, 2021

Rice kept the country on edge and did not give any indication on where he was going to decide to go, only announcing last week that he would make his decision live on CBS Sports HQ on Thursday night.

PATIENCE pic.twitter.com/W4K6HRaOKu
— ZACH RICE (@od_zach) October 21, 2021

The fact that Virginia was even in the running for Zach Rice is a sign of the tremendous progress the UVA football program has made under Bronco Mendenhall.

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