UNC Football: Five-star DE Desmond Evans commits to Tar Heels
By Zack Pearson
![ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after their 38-22 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after their 38-22 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/65deaef9e881c636513eac9272dd5e3ce53a0f01cf218b12d631d3ef49718cb5.jpg)
The UNC Football program just landed a HUGE commitment in their 2020 recruiting class as five-star recruit Desmond Evans just verbally committed
North Carolina fans now have another reason to celebrate it being Friday.
The Tar Heels’ football program just reeled in perhaps their best recruit in over 10 years on Friday afternoon as five-star defensive end Desmond Evans officially committed to the program for the 2020 recruiting class. Evans made his commitment to UNC on Friday with a special ceremony at his high school.
Desmond Evans picks UNC pic.twitter.com/AMn5WRmmGi
— Barnt (@barntwn) October 18, 2019
Evans picked the Tar Heels over Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech, being the first five-star composite recruit to commit to the program since DE Donte Paige-Moss did so in 2009. Running back Elijah Hood was a five-star recruit on 247 Sports in 2014 but was not a composite five-star like Evans is.
The commitment is huge for Mack Brown and his staff. They have now landed the top player in the state of North Carolina for the first time since Hood committed in 2013. Not only that, but Evans is considered one of the top recruits in the country.
247 Sports has Evans listed as the No. 22 overall player in the 2020 class while ESPN has him listed No. 2 overall in their updated rankings. Either way, Evans is a program-changing recruit and the biggest recruit Brown has landed so far in his second tenure with the Tar Heels.
With the commitment, UNC now has 22 verbal commitments in 2020 ahead of the Early Signing Period in a few weeks. Evans is the only five-star player but is the 13th player from the state of North Carolina to commit.
Landing in-state talent has been a focus of Brown and his staff since they started to put together the 2020 class. They now have the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 6 player’s in the state committed to their class.
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For more on Evans and the rest of UNC’s 2020 recruiting class, please check back with Keeping It Heel.