UNC Football Recruiting: Will O’Briant To Walk On

It was the end of an era in Chapel Hill last season with Casey Barth’s injury. For nearly a decade the kicking job belonged to a Barth for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In 2013 it will now belong to someone new and outside of the family.

CHAPEL HILL, NC – NOVEMBER 10: The North Carolina Tar Heels wait to take the field for a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during play at Kenan Stadium on November 10, 2012 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

That job very well could be Will O’Briant. The Asheboro High School (Asheboro, North Carolina) senior signed last week with North Carolina as a preferred walk-on because of the loss of scholarships for the Tar Heels.

O’Briant signed that deal with high hopes of being their kicker next season, but said he would even settle as a punter if need be just to be a Tar Heel.

"“I’ve been a Tar Heel fan my entire life,” he said. “All that matters to me is that I’m going to school at Carolina. It’s a big weight off of me.”"

O’Briant comes from a soccer background which isn’t unusual for kickers and punters in football. He found a balance between playing soccer and football and has enjoyed being able to play with the football team.

He is now pursuing a lifelong dream of being a Tar Heel and will enroll this fall and go after the dream of kicking for the Heels when they take the field in Columbia to kick off their 2013 season!