Tar Heels land 11th commit from ESPN 300, second best in FBS

When coach Mack Brown said he wanted to keep the best players from the state of North Carolina home, he wasn't playing around.

On Friday, Brown and his staff got two commitments from ESPN Junior 300 prospects out of North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels 11 in-state recruits in the top 300.

Brown and his staff have had an outstanding start to the 2021 class and now have the second-most commitments from the ESPN Junior 300 of any FBS program, behind only Ohio State, which has 14.

UNC's recruits include six of the top seven in-state prospects who have already announced their commitments.

The latest to join the fold on Friday were linebacker Raneiria Dillworth, the No. 93-ranked recruit overall, and offensive lineman Jared Wilson, ranked 228th in the top 300.

Dillworth is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound outside linebacker from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina, and Wilson is a 6-foot-4, 325-pound lineman out of West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina.

Also within North Carolina's commit list are five-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver and quarterback Drake Maye, who flipped to the Tar Heels from Alabama.

The No. 1-ranked recruit in the state, defensive tackle Payton Page, has yet to make his announcement. The five-star recently released his top three, which consists of Clemson, North Carolina and Tennessee.

That is yet another top in-state recruit Brown and his staff still could reel in and add to this excellent recruiting class that is still growing.