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2021 recruiting and commitments

The are 5 starters across an OL. It is easily the largest position group on a football team. OL for almost all programs means the most time to develop of any position group. Because there are lots of dings and bangs on the OL that cost halves and even a game or two, as well as season-ending injuries, you need to start every season with at least 3 reserves who can play well right then: 1 C,. 1G, 1T. It also means you need 3 or 4 guys ready to step into the 2nd squad 3some the second there is any injury.

The only way to have that number of OL players able to reload year after years is to sign what many fans, like those overly focused on players/positions that score TDs, feel is over-recruiting.

Even when you regularly sign 4* guys on the OL, you are going to need to RS about half of them their first year. Many of the RS freshman still won't be ready to make a serious run to crack that Top 8 unless the OL is the weak link of your offense, which you definitely do not want. Then, because of injury you can count on about a fourth of your total on the OL missing at least half a season in addition to any freshmen redshirting.

This 2021 crop on the OL that we have a very good chance to sign is the best group on the OL that UNC can sign in a very long time. We have missed the opportunity to get a commitment from Colby Smith, who is now a Vol commit. I would have taken his commitment as soon as I could have gotten it. If we do not land Logan Taylor, then our 2021 OL recruiting should be deemed mediocre at best, based on what was available. If we can land Mugharbil, it would be foolish not to take that 4 man-OL class. Also, I think Austin Barber probably will turn out to be good enough (barring injury) eventually to make a Top 8 on the OL of a ranked team. He is a late developer because of level of HS competition. So I probably would want him as a 4th OL commit if Mugharbil heads elsewhere. I would cut elsewhere to get the OL talent and depth.

Searles produced mediocre OLs with little proven depth at both VT and Miami. He often signed top 3* and some 4* players who failed to live up to expectations, meaning he all but certainly picked some guys he should not have and passed on some he should have picked.

Could always change. Look at how things unfolded last year. We ended up flipping Adorno. I doubt we get everyone at the top of our board. Just the nature of recruiting. The difference is we have fewer scholarships to offer this cycle. And you kinda have to sit on one for best available, someone like Grimes. That and we're about at ideal depth. Someone can check, but I think we have 8 OT, 6 OG and 2 OC. And no scholarship seniors. Then we're going to add one more OT to this class to make 3 total - 2 OT, 1 OG.
 
Someone can check, but I think we have 8 OT, 6 OG and 2 OC. And no scholarship seniors.
Someone can check, but I imagine close to half of those are 3* recruits, meaning close to half probably won’t pan out(some of the 3*’s will and some of the 4*’s won’t). You can’t fully utilize skilled position players without a really good offensive line, one that is deep enough to develop continuity and chemistry even after injuries are factored in.

I’m not looking at building a top 5 defensive line right now. I’m looking to build an offensive line that can protect our talented young QB and allow us to score enough points to stay in games with top 20 teams. Once we can do that then we can work on building a top 10 defense.

It’s very hard to shut down top 20 offenses. You have to limit them somewhat but you have to be able to score 24-28 points against a good defense consistently.
 
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Someone can check, but I imagine close to half of those are 3* recruits, meaning close to half probably won’t pan out(some of the 3*’s will and some of the 4*’s won’t). You can’t fully utilize skilled position players without a really good offensive line, one that is deep enough to develop continuity and chemistry even after injuries are factored in.

I’m not looking at building a top 5 defensive line right now. I’m looking to build an offensive line that can protect our talented young QB and allow us to score enough points to stay in games with top 20 teams. Once we can do that then we can work on building a top 10 defense.

It’s very hard to shut down top 20 offenses. You have to limit them somewhat but you have to be able to score 24-28 points against a good defense consistently.

You're actually right on the numbers. We want 8 potential starters on the OL and have 16 on scholarship before counting this class. Again, we have no scholarship senior OL on the 2020 roster. It was our most improved room from last spring, according to Longo, and he feels like we're in a good position to start the season with 8 available. I get what you're saying about raising the talent level and I'm with you 100% but I can't see them taking more than another OT in this class unless we miss on some other guys first. Because we're not taking a full class.
 
I understand Joe. We’re sitting at 14 commitments now. Assuming we don’t lose any of them, that leaves about 7-8 more scholarships to give, right? I’ve read anywhere from 21-23.
 
I understand Joe. We’re sitting at 14 commitments now. Assuming we don’t lose any of them, that leaves about 7-8 more scholarships to give, right? I’ve read anywhere from 21-23.

I last heard 20-21 but I don't have a list of the counters. Your estimate of 7-8 is probably a safe bet. That's assuming there are no silents waiting to announce.
 
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This is a bit OT but Davis decommitted from VaTech. Lol
Was waiting for this :D

That program is in free fall. Following up their disastrous 2020 class with this class will result in them having a couple losing seasons / 6-6 years in 2022, 2023 season.

Like Fedora did with NC high schools, Fuente and his staff have destroyed relationships with VA high schools. That's why they're going after recruits in TX, Arkansas, etc.

Hate to see it...
 
With VT's imminent demise, now is the time for Carolina to gain a choke-hold on the Coastal. Current status of each team in the Coastal:

- Carolina -- on the come up with a huge infusion of NFL-potential talent on its way
- Pitt -- hitting their head on the ceiling of that program under Narduzzi. They snag a couple high-profile PA kids here and there, but they do not recruit well enough to challenge us (we have to prove it on the field though, obviously). Pitt's last 3 classes: 36th, 49th, 44th.
- GT -- on the rise, but on a slower trajectory to Carolina. Don't laugh; in 3 years, GT will be a Top 25 program. Geoff Collins sucks as a gameday coach IMO, but he can recruit and he will infuse GT with Top 20 - Top 25 classes. Last year's class was 24th
- Duke -- lol. It's cute that they try.
- VT -- as discussed.... floundering. A new coaching search is imminent
- Miami -- our biggest threat. Eventually, Miami will figure out how to make all of its elite talent pull in the same direction. Miami has the most talented roster in the Coastal top to bottom, and we will need to continue to recruit like we are for 3+ cycles to change that.
- UVA -- not recruiting at an elite enough level to challenge us.... except for the fact that Bronco Mendenhall gets the most out of his players and they play well-disciplined ball without making mistakes.

We are perfectly situated (considering Miami plays FSU every year which almost always means Miami won't go 8-0 in conference) to grab this division by the balls.
 
Going to be a ripple effect for them, sadly :).

A couple of studs signed there because of DD.

Things you hate to see for $1,000, Alex.
They're going to finish with a top five class, no doubt about it. With us only taking 21-23 commitments, we won't. But if we add Ritzie and a few other studs, we can still finish in the top 10-15, we must finish strong though. And I think we will.
 
They're going to finish with a top five class, no doubt about it. With us only taking 21-23 commitments, we won't. But if we add Ritzie and a few other studs, we can still finish in the top 10-15, we must finish strong though. And I think we will.
Who's gonna finish with a Top 5 class?
 
We'd be unlocking Shelby at last...
I’ve often wondered why the State schools stopped at Charlotte. It’s like they never heard of Cleveland County. Shelby and Crest are 7 miles apart and the football players that come out of both are phenomenal. Clemson and Florida figured it’s out long ago. I’m glad Mack is different. Clemson has a safety from Crest that was a 3 star for whatever reason and he camped with them and they offered on the spot. Justin Foster is a beast for them. Here’s to UNC locking down Cleveland County. No one seems to know about Tim Ruff in this State. They should.
 
I’ve often wondered why the State schools stopped at Charlotte. It’s like they never heard of Cleveland County. Shelby and Crest are 7 miles apart and the football players that come out of both are phenomenal. Clemson and Florida figured it’s out long ago. I’m glad Mack is different. Clemson has a safety from Crest that was a 3 star for whatever reason and he camped with them and they offered on the spot. Justin Foster is a beast for them. Here’s to UNC locking down Cleveland County. No one seems to know about Tim Ruff in this State. They should.
Hasn't been for a lack of trying on UNC's part.
 
I’ve often wondered why the State schools stopped at Charlotte. It’s like they never heard of Cleveland County. Shelby and Crest are 7 miles apart and the football players that come out of both are phenomenal. Clemson and Florida figured it’s out long ago. I’m glad Mack is different. Clemson has a safety from Crest that was a 3 star for whatever reason and he camped with them and they offered on the spot. Justin Foster is a beast for them. Here’s to UNC locking down Cleveland County. No one seems to know about Tim Ruff in this State. They should.

Clemson gets a lot of play in the media out there. I mean, Shelby is what about an hour closer to them than Chapel Hill?
 
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Clemson gets a lot of play in the media out there. I mean, Shelby is what about an hour closer to them than Chapel Hill?
Well, I’ll would say you’re somewhat correct. However, there is an enormous amount of support for the State universities in our area. I have a picture of Mack Brown at Crest with our coach taken sometime last year I think. That’s how you circumvent some of that press. He’s just a different kind of person. The head coach of North Carolina showed up. I work with what seems like every Clemson fan in the upstate. They’re taking notice of what is taking place at UNC. I’m a Tar Heel fan to the grave. I hope Mack taps the line down this way and shuts it off from going South. He got Peysour from Kings Mountain, that’s Cleveland County.
 
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Looks like Bingley Jones suffered a lower body injury this spring and had to have surgery according to Jon Alexander. Brutal blow to the D-line depth if he's out awhile.

Gotta keep building that D-line.
 
Looks like Bingley Jones suffered a lower body injury this spring and had to have surgery according to Jon Alexander. Brutal blow to the D-line depth if he's out awhile.

Gotta keep building that D-line.
#DLCurse.

It's a very, very real thing that has existed since Butch Davis: Recruiting whiffs, commits not qualifying, busts once they make it to campus, dropping out, injuries, medical hardships, suspensions, permanently exiled by NCAA...... etc. etc.

Anything that can affect our DL position group has. I've been talking about #DLCurse for 6+ years.
 
Yeah the DL curse is a very real thing. I bet TOS is coming unglued given there's not a lot else going on. Sucks but all you can do is hope for a smooth rehab
TOS sucks. I poasted on the free Tar Pit a couple of times recently (same handle) but that board is a cesspool. Pretty obvious most of them are long-time basketball-onlies who only have a cursory knowledge of college football.
 
TOS sucks. I poasted on the free Tar Pit a couple of times recently (same handle) but that board is a cesspool. Pretty obvious most of them are long-time basketball-onlies who only have a cursory knowledge of college football.
Dude, you complain regularly about UNC having too many "basketball-only fans". Yet when enthusiasm for football is growing and fans you deem "obvious basketball-onlies" come to a free UNC football forum to discuss Carolina football, you disparage them by saying they "only have a cursory knowledge of football" and calling the forum a "cesspool". Do you want more "basketball-onlies" to get more enthused and involved or not?
 
Dude, you complain regularly about UNC having too many "basketball-only fans". Yet when enthusiasm for football is growing and fans you deem "obvious basketball-onlies" come to a free UNC football forum to discuss Carolina football, you disparage them by saying they "only have a cursory knowledge of football" and calling the forum a "cesspool". Do you want more "basketball-onlies" to get more enthused and involved or not?
TOS free board is a cesspool. Instead of arguing over there and trying to fight it, I've chosen to not poast at all 99.9% of the time.

All fans are welcome because we need more. Carolina has a very strong core football fanbase (in terms of regularly attending games), it's just a small core. Last season showed that there's hope for our football fanbase.

I'm surprised you don't poast over there more. It's all group think and anyone saying anything outside the group think is called a Wuffie then banned.
 
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Looks like Bingley Jones suffered a lower body injury this spring and had to have surgery according to Jon Alexander. Brutal blow to the D-line depth if he's out awhile.

Gotta keep building that D-line.
Did you hear he was going to be out? From what I read, I assumed they expected him back roughly near the start of the season.

Yes, we will need him. Supposedly he got up to 300 pounds on campus and looked good. It's possible, based on potential and our our lack of proven upperclassmen DL talent, that Bingley-Jones, Pinder, and Murphy all play major snaps - and look very good
 
Did you hear he was going to be out? From what I read, I assumed they expected him back roughly near the start of the season.

Yes, we will need him. Supposedly he got up to 300 pounds on campus and looked good. It's possible, based on potential and our our lack of proven upperclassmen DL talent, that Bingley-Jones, Pinder, and Murphy all play major snaps - and look very good

Haven't seen a timetable but I'd be surprised if he's available for UCF.
 
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Did you hear he was going to be out? From what I read, I assumed they expected him back roughly near the start of the season.

Yes, we will need him. Supposedly he got up to 300 pounds on campus and looked good. It's possible, based on potential and our our lack of proven upperclassmen DL talent, that Bingley-Jones, Pinder, and Murphy all play major snaps - and look very good

Not sure where you read that but they typically won't comment on the extent of an injury or a timetable for return unless it's season ending.
 
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