Clemson, UNC turning into recruiting rivals
The Clemson Tigers are the kings of the ACC. Under Dabo Swinney, the Tigers have won six consecutive conference titles and yearly sign one of the best recruiting classes in college football. However, North Carolina is making a recruiting push under Mack Brown.
The 69-year-old is currently in his second stint in Chapel Hill after leading the program from 1988-97. In his first stay, the Tar Heels won 69 games, capped off with consecutive top-10 finishes in 1996 and 1997. From there, Brown moved to Texas, where he would run the Longhorns football program from 1998-2013. In Austin, Brown claimed a national championship in 2005, to go along with a pair of Big 12 titles. In his second stint at North Carolina, Brown has the Heels making noise.
Through two seasons, North Carolina is 15-9 on the field, with a New Year’s Six appearance and top-20 finish in 2020. Once on the job, Brown flipped quarterback Sam Howell from Florida State, and the junior quarterback could be the top NFL Draft prospect in this year’s class. Quickly, North Carolina has made waves on the recruiting trail.
In the class of 2021, UNC equaled Clemson with five top-100 signees according to On3 Recruits. However, the Tar Heels signed a pair of five-star prospects — DL Jahvaree Ritzie, DL Keeshawn Silver — while Clemson had zero. The Tigers had a higher ranked class, but Brown’s program is signing its share of highly-ranked prospects as well. These two programs will continue to battle it out on the recruiting trail.
Head-to-head battles
In the class of 2021, Payton Page was a very strong recruiting win for Clemson. The blue-chip defensive tackle out of Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High was high on both ACC programs. Page visited Chapel Hill multiple times during the recruiting process but decided to head to Clemson, giving Todd Bates and Brent Venables a solid recruiting win.
Also in the class of 2021, Tony Grimes was a five-star cornerback out of Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne High who picked North Carolina over Ohio State, Georgia, Texas A&M and Clemson. The Tigers made the final eight list, but Carolina came out the victor. Grimes would later reclassify and played for the Heels last fall. The sophomore is set to be one of the best cornerbacks in the ACC this year.
In the class of 2022, both four-star cornerback Jeadyn Lukus and five-star cornerback Daylen Everette chose the Tigers over North Carolina.
Clemson and UNC are constantly battling each other for blue-chip prospects in this region.
Travis Shaw is wanted by Clemson, North Carolina
The next big domino to fall in this rivalry will occur on Saturday. Travis Shaw is another North Carolina defensive line prospect that both programs are heavily recruiting. Ranked No. 43 overall in the class of 2022 by On3 Recruits, Shaw is a premium prospect.
Some other blue blood programs are involved in the recruitment, but this appears to be a battle between the pair of ACC programs once again. We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see who wins out.
Expect more battles
This recruiting rivalry does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Clemson wants to have a strong presence in both North Carolina and Virginia. The Tigers landed three players from those states in 2021 and have a pair committed in the class of 2022. Meanwhile, Brown has made North Carolina a contender for every in-state blue-chip prospect while the Tar Heels are heavily involved in Virginia. Things could get heated between these two programs.
With a future NFL quarterback, North Carolina opened the season ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP top 25. The Tar Heels could be the favorite from the ACC Coastal to reach the conference title game. Once there, the Heels would likely face Clemson. Thanks to the recruiting implications, that future matchup could have some very high stakes.
Clemson and North Carolina currently have the top recruiting rivalry in the ACC. There is no denying that.
Subscribe to ClemsonSports and get access to all of our content for an entire year for only $10.