On National Signing Day, Mack Brown adds five new commits

North Carolina football head coach Mack Brown held a press conference Wednesday to announce the newest additions to his team.

The Tar Heels added five prospects on National Signing Day, bringing the class total to 24 signees. UNC now has the No. 32 recruiting class in the country and the No. 6 class in the ACC. Nationally, the Tar Heels are just three spots behind in-state recruiting rival N.C. State.

Programs sometimes struggle with recruiting after a new coach is hired because of the early signing period, which allows high school players to sign with their desired schools in December instead of the regular signing day in early February. However, Brown is content with the quality of the incoming class.

“We’ve got a tremendous class considering that a lot of people, with the early signing day, lose the first class,” Brown said. “We did not lose our year. In fact, we gained some really good football players.”

Speaking of those players, here is a breakdown of the Tar Heels’ five newest signees:

Wisdom Asaboro

A three-star defensive lineman from Matthews, N.C., Asaboro was the second highest rated prospect to sign with the Tar Heels on Wednesday. He is the No. 36 defensive tackle in the nation and the No. 21 prospect in North Carolina.

Asaboro has a unique story. He came to the United States from Nigeria to play basketball, but eventually switched to play football.

“He has only played one year of football, so there are some fundamental things he has to learn,” Brown said.

The defensive lineman chose UNC over Virginia, Duke, Auburn and Georgia. He is proof of Brown’s focus on getting top in-state prospects to join the Tar Heels.

“Ten of the guys that we signed are from the state of North Carolina,” Brown said. “That number will go up significantly when we are here for a year.”

Don Chapman

Chapman is a three-star defensive back and the No. 60 safety in the country. Brown said that he will play at corner for the Tar Heels even though he was designated as a safety in recruiting. 

Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman recruited Chapman when he was a coach at Army. Brown said that Bateman "recruited every player in America" at Army, and said Bateman told him that “now, they will actually come.” 

Chapman may not only be used on defense. Brown showed many highlights of the safety’s kick returns during the press conference.

Chapman, a San Diego native, chose the Tar Heels over Washington State and Colorado, among others.

“I like him a lot as a person,” Brown said. “I didn’t think he would come that far. I said, ‘This is too far for you, you are going to have to go over a lot of good schools to get here.’”

Raymond Vohasek

Vohasek is rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 1 junior college prospect in Illinois. He will have three years of eligibility at UNC.

Vohasek is the fifth defensive lineman in this class to commit, so that should be a position group with great depth next season. He picked North Carolina over Kansas and Oregon State, among others.

Brown said that the defensive lineman had a shoulder operation after the season, so he is a little down on his weight. Brown described Vohasek as quick off the ball and very powerful.

“He is very, very quiet, but he plays loud,” Brown said. 

Ty Murray

The offensive lineman from Carrollton, Ga., flipped his commitment from Louisville to UNC on Jan. 13. Murray is the No. 46 offensive guard in the country.

According to Brown, Murray can play all five spots on the offensive line, but he wants to play center, and the Tar Heels recruited him as such. 

“As an offensive line, you are only as good as your center," Brown said. "You have to be tough down the middle, and this guy has toughness,”

Eugene Asante

Hours after Brown’s press conference, the Tar Heels signed their highest rated recruit of the day. The four-star linebacker from Chantilly, Va., is the No. 17 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 8 recruit in Virginia.

UNC beat out Virginia Tech, who was considered the favorite to land Asante, with a late recruiting push. 

Despite his late start in the recruiting game, Brown has recruited a full class, and the staff already has their sights on next year’s recruits. The Tar Heels already have four commits in the 2020 class, which puts them at No. 18 in the country.

@matt_chilson

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com