UNC football recruiting rumors: 4-star QB commits, Heels flip DB from LSU, losing battle to Gamecocks

UNC football recruiting rumors: Tar Heels losing battle for 4-star to South Carolina

Things have gone quite well for UNC football recruiting under Mack Brown as a whole and that doesn’t appear to be changing. Unfortunately, though, one of the top in-state targets that the veteran head coach is hoping to bring to Chapel Hill might get taken from the Tar Heels by (don’t anyone dare call them “Carolina”) the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Jonathan Paylor, a 4-star athlete from Burlington, NC and the No. 146 overall player in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the 2024 class, has an offer from North Carolina and the Heels are considered among the final four for the 5-foot-9, 170-pounder alongside South Carolina, Maryland, and NC State.

However, there are six Crystal Ball predictions logged for Paylor and, while none are at the maximum level of confidence, all have the offensive weapon — he could play receiver or running back at the college level — heading to the Gamecocks.

Three of those predictions have come in the last week, including one from recruiting guru Steve Wiltfong, after Paylor finished up his tour of those four schools with visits to each in the month of June, ending the trip with a visit in Columbia to South Carolina.

One thing that great programs do, particularly ones that are getting ready to make another leap, is making sure they get their top targets in the state. As such, losing the Burlington native to the neighbors down south would be a tough pill to swallow for Mack Brown and Co.

As of this writing, though, the Tar Heels still have the No. 16-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle with room to make up if they do end up missing out on Paylor.