Desmond Evans is coming to Chapel Hill. On Friday after, Evans announced his commitment to North Carolina. A 5-star defensive end prospect, Evans is the No. 1 overall prospect in the state of North Carolina.
This marks the second straight recruiting cycle that Mack Brown has landed one of the state’s top two prospects. During the 2019 cycle, UNC flipped quarterback Sam Howell — previously a Florida State commit. (So far, Howell has been very good.)
Mack Brown & North Carolina get a commitment from five-star defensive end Desmond Evans, No. 2 ranked player overall.
Tar Heels now have 5 ESPN 300 commitments in the class along with Evans, who is the highest ranked commitment for UNC since ESPN started its rankings. #UNC pic.twitter.com/k1NQ02EPiP
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) October 18, 2019
Tim Brewster and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman led North Carolina’s efforts for the 6-foot-6 Evans, who plays his prep ball for Lee County High School in Sanford, N.C.
Evans ranks as the No. 22 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to 247 Sports. Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia Tech were in the mix, too. Initially pursued by NC State, the Pack moved on from Evans a few months ago — after he appeared to be a strong UNC lean.
North Carolina now has commitments from six of the top 15 prospects in the state of North Carolina, including two 4-star defensive linemen: Myles Murphy and Kedrick Bingley-Jones. This is a similar approach to what NC State accomplished during the 2019 recruiting cycle: dominate in the state, focus on the line. (Led by 4-star defensive end Savion Jackson, the Pack landed five of the top 17 prospects in the state.)
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