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UNC Football: Penn State flips Tar Heels WR commit

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Larry Fedora of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches during their game against the California Golden Bears at Kenan Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Cal won 35-30. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Larry Fedora of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches during their game against the California Golden Bears at Kenan Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Cal won 35-30. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Football program loses a key wide receiver from the 2019 recruiting class after Penn State flipped him

The 2019 recruiting class for the North Carolina Tar Heels hasn’t hasn’t had the start they expected it to have this year. After bringing in an impressive 2018 class, head coach Larry Fedora and his staff are hoping to turn things around in a hurry with the program.

It’s only the end of July but as of now, the Tar Heels have a total of 11 verbal commitments and the class is ranked 54th nationally.

On Saturday, the program’s 2019 class took a hit when three-star wide receiver Emery Simmons flipped his commitment from UNC to Penn State. The in-state receiver made the announcement on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/SimmonsDaekwon/status/1023395197890306049

This is the third commitment for Simmons since March after he committed to Indiana before flipping to UNC on June 20th. A month later, Simmons finds himself back in the Big Ten but this time with a contender.

The flip was a big surprise for UNC as Simmons unexpectedly attended a recruiting event on campus over the weekend. He made the announcement on Saturday night, sending shockwaves through the UNC fanbase.

While only a three-star recruit and the No. 62 wide receiver in the class according to 247 Sports, Simmons was labeled as an underrated player. He was easily the best receiver at UNC’s Freak Show event a few months back and had a great showing at Nike’s “The Opening” in July.

Simmons stock was certainly on the rise and he was a big in-state commitment for Fedora and his staff.

Following the loss of Simmons, UNC now has just one of the Top 50 players in the state of North Carolina in its class. That player is No. 50 Welton Spottsville, a wide receiver from Havelock, North Carolina.

UNC’s focus could now switch to landing a commitment from receiver Khafre Brown. The four-star wide receiver out of Charlotte has been on the Tar Heels’ radar for a long time and is the No. 8 player in the state. Landing him would help the sting of losing Simmons and give UNC some more depth at the position.

Brown has offers from programs like Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee and Alabama, which will make for some tough competition for the Tar Heels.

Next. Antonio Williams gets cleared to play. dark

For more on UNC’s 2019 recruiting class, please check back with Keeping It Heel.

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