North Carolina trending for 4-star ATH CJ Sadler

North Carolina already has 35 commits in its 2026 recruiting class, but head coach Bill Belichick and his staff are trending to add another big piece to the puzzle later this week, according to the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Detroit Cass Technical four-star athlete CJ Sadler will announce his commitment this Friday, Aug. 15. He’s down to four schools, but all signs continue to point toward the Tar Heels. Four predictions have now been logged in favor of UNC landing the blue-chipper.

Belichick is after do-it-all athletes and Sadler fits that mold. He dominates as a receiver and as a defensive back at the prep level. Playing under the legendary head coach and the relationships that Sadler has built with the Tar Heels has put them in the driver’s seat ahead of Michigan, Maryland and Colorado.

“With coach Bill, that’s a big check there. When I went there he brought all his guys with him from the Patriots,” Sadler told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong last month. “The amount of NFL experience they have on the staff. I know If I got there I would get developed there.”

Sadler took his official visit to Chapel Hill on the weekend of June 6. If he were to choose UNC, he would be the highest-ranked prospect in its 2026 class. Sadler is the No. 123 overall prospect, No. 6 athlete and top-ranked player in Michigan, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies.

Sadler is currently one of just 10 uncommitted blue-chip prospects in the 2026 cycle. The board continues to slim down ahead of football season.

UNC rolling this summer

To date, the Tar Heels have the nation’s No. 20 class, according to the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Of the 35 commits in the mix, eight are four-stars.

On Aug. 1, Nashville DCA four-star tight end Carson Sneed flipped to UNC from Tennessee, nearly a year after he originally pledged to the in-state Vols. He’s one of three blue-chippers that have flipped to to the Tar Heels this cycle, alongside safety Jakob Weatherspoon (Ohio State) and defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin (Texas A&M).

Weatherspoon’s flip from the in-state Buckeyes came out of the blue to most last month. He’s currently the No. 2 commit on the pledge list, behind just Jackson (Ala.) four-star wide receiver Keeyun Chapman. Ruffin has been in the class since mid-March.

UNC also has a top-notch quarterback in its class via Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star quarterback Travis Burgess. An Elite 11 finalist, Burgess chose Belichick and Co. over NC State and Auburn, among others. He’s now the nation’s No. 14 signal-caller ahead of his senior campaign.

The full North Carolina class can be seen here.