North Carolina Tar Heels Signing Day Report
Today was Signing Day and the North Carolina Tar Heels Football team added some more parts to their ranks. The class of 2015 was nineteen members strong and ranked as the 25th best class in the nation by Scout.com’s recruiting services. It was the 3rd best class in the ACC behind Florida State and Clemson.
The class was unusual in that it was populated by a number of early enrollees. Of the nineteen member class, nine were already on campus when Signing Day rolled around with another who had planned to be on campus but signed anyway.
The signees were:
JK Britt, DB, 6’0” 190 lbs
Jalen Dalton, DE, 6’6” 260 lbs
Juval Mollette, WR, 6’4” 200 lbs
Anthony Ratliff-Williams, QB, 6’1” 195 lbs
Andre Smith, LB, 6’0” 230 lbs
William Sweet, OL, 6’7” 280 lbs
Carl Tucker, ATH, 6’2” 225 lbs
Mason Veal, OL, 6’5” 295 lbs
Ty’Son Williams, RB, 6’0” 210 lbs
Tommy Hatton, OL, 6’3” 285 lbs
Aaron Crawford, DT, 6’1” 310 lbs
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Jason Stowbridge, DE, 6’4” 250 lbs
Corey Bell, CB, 5’9” 170 lbs
Jake Bargas, TE, 6’4” 225 lbs
Mike Hughes, ATH, 5’11” 185 lbs
Nathan Elliot, QB, 6’1” 195 lbs
Charlie Heck, ATH, 6’7” 255 lbs
Nick Polino, OL, 6’4” 275 lbs
Johnathan Sutton, LB, 5’11” 220 lbs
Even though the defensive staff changed late in the recruiting period, you can already see the changes that the Tar Heels hope to install on defense. Smith, Tucker, and Sutton sound like guys who will be good sized linebackers to fit into the 4-3 system. They will also have a chance to make an immediate impact since that third linebacker space has to be wide open.
Another sign of the defensive switch is the importance put on the defensive line. Dalton and Stowbridge are bigger defensive ends required by the system. Crawford sounds like a space eater, and he will walk in as the largest defensive tackle on the team.
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The other need was on the offensive line. There you can see the staff went and got help in the form of Heck, Polino, Hatton, and Sweet. That should help restock the line pretty good. Usually offensive linemen need a year to grow into their bodies, but there could be a surprise starter amongst one of these guys.
If you are looking for redshirts, the easiest guys to point at are Williams, Ratliff-Williams, and Elliot, who all play at positions with good depth. Mollette may also be a potential redshirt given the number of experienced receivers.
This is a good starting point for North Carolina as they start a new chapter in rebuilding the defense.