Where does UNC football stand with top 2023 uncommitted in-state recruits amid slow start?

After a 2021 season that started with ACC championship aspirations and ended with a 6-7 record and a defensive coaching reset, UNC football clearly isn’t going to hit the recruiting highs it did last cycle.

But the Tar Heels’ status with a number of uncommitted in-state recruits could be key in building some sort of momentum for a two-man class that currently ranks ninth in the ACC and 54th in the country.

UNC currently has commitments from four-star Hough quarterback Tad Hudson and three-star Virginia offensive tackle Nolan McConnell. Here’s an update on the program’s courtship of five more recruits, all ranked among the state’s top 10, entering a busy period of May, June and July official visit weekends.

Rankings are courtesy of the 247Sports composite.

Four-star WR Noah Rogers

High school: Rolesville

Measurables: 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

Rankings: No. 1 in state, No. 10 at position, No. 59 nationally

The skinny: A freakishly athletic wide receiver who caught 22 touchdowns as a junior, Rogers is North Carolina’s only top 100 national recruit for 2023. Naturally, that’s drawn national attention. UNC and N.C. State made Rogers’ top five schools list this month. So did Clemson, Florida State and Ohio State.

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The Tar Heels extended an early offer to the in-state star and even added his older brother, Cyrus, to their roster as a preferred walk-on last summer. But Ohio State, one of the country’s top recent developers of wide receiver talent, is firmly in the lead here, per 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions.

Four-star edge rusher Rico Walker

High school: Hickory

Measurables: 6-foot-3, 233 pounds

Rankings: No. 2 in state, No. 13 at position, No. 159 nationally

The skinny: Walker’s blazing speed off the edge has earned him an impressive list of Power Five offers. UNC’s courtship with Walker, also a standout wide receiver/tight end, dates to 2020, when the Tar Heels offered him ahead of his sophomore season. At that point, he’d played in just three varsity games.

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Walker included UNC on his top 11 schools list this month and holds one Crystal Ball pick to choose the Tar Heels. Still, he emphasized his recruitment’s “100% open." Other contenders include Auburn (where his father played), Clemson, Georgia and Tennessee. His summer visits should help clarify things.

Four-star DL Daevin Hobbs

High school: Jay M. Robinson

Measurables: 6-foot-4, 250 pounds

Rankings: No. 5 in state, No. 31 at position, No. 217 nationally

The skinny: UNC is shaping up as the team to beat for Hobbs, whose junior film has netted him some prominent offers: Missouri, Penn State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Alabama, which hasn’t offered, also had him in for a visit. Still, UNC’s in a good spot with the athletic lineman.

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Hobbs had 39 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a junior and later led Robinson to an NCHSAA basketball state championship. He landed a UNC offer in April. When he scheduled a late June official visit to Chapel Hill a month later, he promptly picked up a high-confidence UNC Crystal Ball pick.

Four-star edge rusher Jaybron Harvey

High school: Southern Durham

Measurables: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds

Rankings: No. 6 in state, No. 23 at position, No. 226 nationally

The skinny: You can sum up Harvey’s junior season with one number: 28.5. That’s how many sacks he recorded in 11 games last fall, good for second in the nation per MaxPreps. Harvey also recorded 129 total tackles, 35 tackles for loss and 33 quarterback hurries while breaking out as a top in-state recruit.

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Harvey is now entering the last leg of his recruitment with three schools under major consideration: UNC, South Carolina and Louisville. He will officially visit those programs on consecutive June weekends, per 247Sports. The Tar Heels, who offered Harvey in February, are up first on June 3.

Four-star DL Jamaal Jarrett

High school: Grimsley

Measurables: 6-foot-6, 350 pounds

Rankings: No. 9 in state, No. 38 at position, No. 273 nationally

The skinny: Clemson, Georgia and UNC all enter the summer as finalists for a defensive tackle from Greensboro. Sound familiar? Though Jarrett doesn’t command the same national recruiting status as Travis Shaw, his former Grimsley teammate and a current UNC freshman, there are some similarities.

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Auburn and LSU are also finalists for Jarrett, and Texas A&M has made its presence known after he released his top five in April. The pull of reigning national champion Georgia, which holds a Crystal Ball prediction, will be tough to beat. Jarrett kicks off his summer official visit tour at UNC starting Friday.

Chapel Fowler is a recruiting reporter for The Fayetteville Observer and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him by email at cfowler@gannett.com or on Twitter at @chapelfowler.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How UNC football is recruiting top 2023 NC high school prospects