UNC Football Recruiting Class 2017
| Commitments: | 20 | ACC Rank: | 6 | National Rank: | 27 | National Rank: 21 | |||
| Commitments | |||||||||
| PLAYER | POS | HT | WT | SCHOOL | ST | RANK | NAT | STATE | NOTES |
| Brian Anderson | OL | 6-3 | 285 | Montgomery Catholic Prep | AL | *** | Top 850 | Top 40 | Projected to play center for the Tar Heels; solid commitment; pledged to UNC at “Fedora’s Freak Show” event |
| Antwuan Branch | RB | 5-11 | 200 | Kenwood | TN | *** | Top 1200 | Top 35 | Initially committed to Purdue in late June; switched pledge to UNC following mid-November official visit to Chapel Hill; fills essential second RB spot for Tar Heels in 2017 class |
| Michael Carter | RB | 5-9 | 190 | Navarre | FL | *** | Top 500 | Top 70 | Committed personally to Larry Fedora at “Fedora’s Freak Show” event, then made his UNC pledge public on July 4 |
| J.T. Cauthen | WR | 6-2 | 210 | Cuthbertson | NC | *** | Top 350 | Top 10 | Earned UNC offer in summer prior to sophomore year; committed to Tar Heels in January of junior year |
| Beau Corrales | WR | 6-4 | 205 | Georgetown | TX | *** | Top 1,175 | Top 175 | Initially committed to Iowa following a mid-September official visit to Iowa City; back out of his Iowa pledge two months later; received UNC offer in late December, committed a couple days following his official visit to Chapel Hill; important extra WR addition for the Tar Heels, who are losing Ryan Switzer, Mac Hollins, and Bug Howard in 2017 |
| C.J. Cotman | WR/DB | 5-11 | 180 | Clearwater Central Catholic | FL | **** | Top 300 | Top 40 | Decommitted from Tennessee in late November; took early December official visit to Chapel Hill and committed to UNC a little over a month later, following an in-home visit with Tar Heel assistant coach Chad Scott |
| Jeremiah Gemmel | LB | 6-2 | 210 | East Coweta | GA | *** | Top 925 | Top 100 | Honorable mention All-State in Georgia’s Class 6A ranks after recording 95 tackles his junior season |
| Xach Gill | DE/DT | 6-5 | 270 | Wake Forest | NC | **** | Top 300 | Top 10 | UNC won a hard-fought recruiting battle against Coastal Division rival Virginia Tech; Gill, a versatile lineman who has played defensive tackle and defensive end in high school, played alongside Clemson standout Dexter Lawrence at Wake Forest HS |
| Jake Lawler | DE | 6-4 | 225 | South Mecklenburg | NC | **** | Top 175 | Top 5 | Committed to UNC after attending Tar Heel basketball game; recorded 13 sacks as a prep junior in 2015 |
| Marcus McKethan | OL | 6-6 | 325 | Barnwell | SC | *** | UR | Top 20 | Became third offensive line addition to UNC’s class; solid commitment; expressed desire to leave state of South Carolina |
| Jonah Melton | OL | 6-4 | 295 | Eastern Alamance | NC | **** | Top 150 | No. 2 | Army All-American Bowl selection; tore ACL at a Rivals Camp, will miss 2015 season; expected to enroll at UNC in January |
| Dazz Newsome | WR/DB | 5-10 | 165 | Hampton | VA | *** | Top 1,050 | No. 35 | Made Signing Day announcement to join UNC's class; initially committed to Maryland but decommitted from Terrapins in December; his older brother, Deon Newsome, signed out of high school with Virginia Tech |
| Jordon Riley | DT | 6-6 | 290 | Riverside | NC | *** | Top 450 | Top 15 | Committed to Tennessee for a time before switching to UNC; also a standout basketball player at Riverside High School |
| Billy Ross | OL | 6-5 | 310 | Huntington | WV | *** | Top 375 | No. 1 | First West Virginia to commit to UNC since Ryan Switzer; chose Tar Heels over Tennessee and Florida State |
| Malik Robinson | LB | 6-0 | 215 | South Gwinnett | GA | *** | Top 1,000 | Top 125 | Projected outside linebacker for Tar Heels; recorded 96 tackles as a prep junior in 2015; solid commitment |
| Kayne Roberts | LB/WR | 6-3 | 195 | Greenback School | TN | ** | Top 2,900 | Top 125 | Under-the-radar athlete who projects as an outside linebacker but could also conceivably play offense at the college level; UNC was first Power 5 scholarship offer; led Greenback School to 14-1 record and state championship game appearance in 2016 |
| Caleb Rozar | DB | 6-3 | 190 | Dickson County | TN | *** | Top 700 | Top 25 | Plays wide receiver and in the secondary at Dickson High School; projected cornerback at UNC; committed after Fedora’s Freak Show |
| Noah Ruggles | K | 6-3 | 175 | Steinbrenner | FL | *** | Top 2,000 | Top 325 | Entered the fray for UNC in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day, landing a Tar Heel offer in late January; will have opportunity to earn starting place kicker job immediately with Nick Weiler's graduation |
| Tre Shaw | DB | 6-0 | 180 | Cedar Grove | GA | **** | Top 300 | Top 30 | Spent time at running back, wide receiver, quarterback, safety, and cornerback last fall at Cedar Grove High School; continues UNC’s solid recruiting in Georgia |
| Jordan Tucker | OL | 6-6 | 325 | Roswell | GA | *** | Top 750 | Top 75 | Second former Tennessee commitment in the span of a week (the other was 4-star ATH T.J. Cotman) to choose UNC; late addition to Tar Heel radar who also considered ACC rivals Louisville and Syracuse, among others |
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