UNC’s Mack Brown adds WR recruit J.J. Jones to an already big-time recruiting class
When Mack Brown was first at North Carolina from 1988 to 1997, he was known as one of the best recruiters in the country. That carried over to his stint at Texas, too.
Since returning from a five-year break from coaching, it has become apparent that Brown hasn’t missed a beat.
It’s still early, but the Tar Heels are rolling. On Thursday, UNC gained a commitment from three-star wide receiver J.J. Jones, one of the top wide receiver prospects in South Carolina.
Jones, who is 6-3, 195 pounds, chose UNC over Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State, according to his Twitter account. He is the 15th player from the Class of 2021 to commit to UNC. Of those 15 players, 10 are four-star recruits and five are three-star. Thirteen of those recruits are from North Carolina.
The Tar Heels currently have the fourth ranked recruiting class in the country, according to 247sports. The only programs ranked higher than UNC are Ohio State, Tennessee and Clemson.
The Tar Heels have not had a recruiting class finish in the top 10 since 2007, and have not finished in the top five since 1999.
With about six months left before the early signing period in December, UNC’s recruiting ranking could change either in its favor or against it. Often times, recruits change their minds and decommit for a variety of reasons.
One instance where it has gone in the Tar Heels’ favor was with four-star quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye changed his commitment from Alabama to UNC, following in the footsteps of his father Mark Maye, and his brother Luke, a star on the Tar Heels’ basketball team.
A successful start to the 2020 season would certainly help the Tar Heels on the recruiting trail, as it did in 2019. The Tar Heels finished 7-6, a five-win turnaround from the previous season. It showed future recruits that UNC was heading in the right direction.
“Last year we were selling on hope,” Brown told Scott Van Pelt on Thursday night on his 11 p.m. SportsCenter show. “’We hope we can win, we hope the fans will come.’ Well, we sold out every game, we were in every game, we had a chance to win. So, now we’re selling facts.”
The Tar Heels have an opportunity to build off of that. On offense, they will return 10 of their 11 starters, including quarterback Sam Howell, who some believe has a chance to be in contention for the Heisman Trophy.
While their defensive line will take a hit after the departures of Jason Strowbridge and Aaron Crawford, the Tar Heels will return veteran linebackers Chazz Surratt and Jeremiah Gemmel, and are also expected to have a much improved secondary.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, UNC’s players have not been on campus. They’ve instead had to work out on their own. However, the NCAA’s Division I Council on Wednesday approved voluntary workouts on campuses beginning June 1 for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball athletes.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order easing restrictions also allows collegiate athletes the opportunity to train at its indoor facilities as long as they do not exceed the mass gathering limit.
The limit for indoor gatherings is 10 people at a time. The limit for outdoor is 25 people.
UNC’s past recruiting class rankings
2020: No. 19
2019: No. 30
2018: No. 20
2017: No. 29
2016: No. 32
2015: No. 28
2014: No. 30
2013: No. 28
2012: No. 41
2011: No. 18
2010: No. 23
2009 No. 12
2008 No. 30
2007: No. 10
2006: No. 26
2005: No. 49
2004: No. 28
2003: No. 18
2002: No. 49
2001: No. 37
2000: No. 44
1999: No. 1
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 11:48 AM with the headline "UNC’s Mack Brown adds WR recruit J.J. Jones to an already big-time recruiting class."
