N.C State coach visiting Maryland commit and UNC target

Can the N.C. State Wolfpack or UNC Tar Heels get three-star defensive tackle Kingsley Opara to pull the trigger and flip his commitment from the Maryland Terrapins? It’s an ACC recruiting battle at its finest for the Jacksonville DT, who could even flip to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but that’s less likely considering they have not offered Opara.

Rob Kinnan-US PRESSWIRE

Ever since the Terrapins moved to the Big Ten, Opara’s commitment became shaky and is now regarded as a soft verbal. UNC and N.C. State are the two teams in the best position to land the 6’4″, 280 pound DT who is regarded as being just outside the top 50 at the position in the 2013 class.

According to his 247Sports timeline, the 135th-ranked recruit in the state of Florida received a visit from an N.C. State coach today, which makes things even more interesting.

Maryland can still hold onto Opara’s commitment, and a recent unofficial visit there went well for him. He still has an official visit to Maryland next month and will also be officially visiting the Wolfpack in January. N.C. State offered Opara on the 15th of the month, while the Tar Heels extended their offer to the three-star DT just a day later.

The top 900 recruit runs a 4.9 forty and recorded nine sacks and forced three fumbles for Mandarin High this season. The Maryland commit is clearly one of the top ten defensive tackles in the state of Florida, and he also had 42 tackles and 11 tackles for loss in a year that was even better than his solid 2011 campaign.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.