Michael Malone and the Tar Heels have a huge visit coming up, as five-star DeMarcus Henry plans on visiting Chapel Hill on October 24th.
Henry is ranked anywhere between 1st through 4th in the recruiting class of 2027 across various recruiting sites and would be a massive land for Malone and the Tar Heels to kickstart Malone’s first ever recruiting cycle.
Fantastic First Impression Needed
The Heels will have to make a great first impression, as Henry has recently set his commitment date for his birthday on October 30th, giving Malone and his staff a week to impress the five-star. While landing Henry would inherently be a major success in and of itself, it could also have a major effect on another highly-touted recruit in the class.
Michael Malone and the Tar Heels have been connected to elite five-star prospect CJ Rosser the past couple of weeks, and as that commitment continues to heat up, landing a commitment from Henry could prompt Rosser to follow suit. Rosser is ranked as the 2nd overall prospect according to 247Sports, with Henry as the 4th.
The Tar Heels have been in the lead for Rosser for quite some time, and the final selling point for the talented power forward could be the opportunity to team up with another elite recruit. Henry has been connected to a few other programs, most notably Louisville, Kentucky, and Arkansas, but talks with Carolina have heated up quite a bit in the past few weeks.
Staying Home?
Both Rosser and Henry are originally from North Carolina, with Rosser being from Rocky Mount and Henry from Charlotte. You have to like North Carolina’s odds of landing the duo, especially considering the timeline. Henry visiting North Carolina as his final official visit a week before his commitment date is fantastic news, and oftentimes the results from the final visits can heavily sway the commitment decision with such a short period in between.
We could be witnessing something very special coming soon to Chapel Hill, if both of these elite recruits decide to team up with one another in college. Of course, many other teams are still in the running for Henry, but I do believe Carolina has potentially the best pitch, depending on the internal confidence in Rosser’s future commitment.
Landing two of the top five recruits in the 2027 class would give the Tar Heels one of, if not the best, recruiting class in the upcoming cycle. For Malone’s first time as a college head coach, having a class that special could set North Carolina up for a fantastic start under Michael Malone.
