UNC Football: Most Underrated Signees for the Class of 2015

Nov 29, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora (right) encourages his team during the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Wolfpack won 35-7. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina had an eventful National Signing Day – relatively speaking, of course.

Larry Fedora came into the day expecting to bring in the 22nd best recruiting class in nation.  And with a new defensive coordinator in Gene Chizik at the helm for the Tar Heel defense, it seemed possible that North Carolina may be able to even get a few positive, last-second surprises for the defense.

The Heels ended up with nine signees in January, inking 19 recruits for the 2015 recruiting class.  And while they ended up missing on 4-star defensive end Jason Strowbridge (happened earlier in the week), 4-star defensive back Prentice McKinney (NSD), and 4-star safety Gary Jennings (NSD), Coach Fedora claims that he is fortunate to call this National Signing Day “uneventful”.

"Going into the morning, I think our coaches had a pretty good feel of the way it was going to go down.  And that’s the way it went, so it was a good thing for us."

And when asked about whether building the offensive and defensive lines was a point of emphasis for the Heels this season, Fedora shared that it most certainly was.

"We have to continue to build depth up front on both sides for us to be successful the way we want to be.  The game is won in the trenches; it always is…those guys up front are the ones that are going to get it done."

North Carolina finished the day with the 28th-ranked recruiting class in the nation (4th in the ACC), with their top commit being Jalen Dalton, the third best defensive end in the 2015 recruiting class according to 247 sports.

But according to sbnation.com, both teams competing in the super bowl this past year had an average recruitment rating of 2.4 coming out of high school, and neither team had any 5-star recruits in their two deep lineups.

So while 3-star recruits may not receive the same coverage as others on National Signing Day, the record shows that they are capable of making noise on the game’s biggest stage.  And with this in mind, I’d like to name some of the most underrated signees for the class of 2019.

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Next: #4 Most Underrated Signee: Corey Bell