Top 2026 two-sport star making official visit to North Carolina

In early January, UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis sent some of his assistants to Reidsville, an hour northwest of Chapel Hill, to scout blue-chip sophomores Kendre Harrison and Dionte Neal. They are the nephews of former NC State great C. C. Harrison.

Well, it turns out that both Harrison and Neal are two-sport stars. Before burning up the basketball court for the Reidsville High Rams, they lit up scoreboards on the gridiron as well. Harrison and Neal led the football Rams to the 2022 NC 2A title game, then turned around and led the basketball Rams to the 2023 2A title game.

Harrison is already ranked as the top tight end prospect in the nation for the Class of 2026, and the top overall football prospect in North Carolina. For that reason, another Tar Heel coach is interested in him--UNC football coach Mack Brown. The feeling is mutual, as Harrison is making an official visit to Chapel Hill on Monday.

Harrison has already attracted a crowded field for his football services. As 2024 dawned, he already had football scholarship offers from Alabama, South Carolina, Southern California, Michigan, and Florida, among others. Since then, according to his Twitter/X feed, the list has grown to include Liberty and Central Florida.

It's pretty easy to see why Harrison has a lot of coaches beating a path to Reidsville. According to Volunteer Country, Harrison rolled up 845 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his sophomore season. At 6-7 and 235 pounds, he has a potentially lethal combination of size and athleticism. Volunteer Country's Evan Crowell noted that Harrison "prefers to operate split-out," giving him a chance to run over and through defenders in the open field. That's no small consideration, since he is almost as big as the linemen and linebackers trying to bring him down. He has also seen some time as a defensive end as well; indeed, On3 and Rivals list him as an "athlete."

Crowell added that Harrison has tremendous leaping ability. This was on display during the football Rams' playoff run, which saw him frequently "jump off either foot and pluck the ball out of the air." He also excels in rolling up yards after the catch; according to Crowell, Harrison has been known to "make three or four defenders miss"--usually by finding an opening rather than outrunning his blockers. His skill set is reminiscent of standout Tar Heel tight ends like Greg DeLong and Alge Crumpler.

The Tar Heels are somewhat thin at tight end, as was made clear ahead of the Duke's Mayo Bowl. With Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver injured and Kamari Morales in the transfer portal, no scholarship tight ends made the trip to Charlotte. The only tight end on the depth chart who had even one collegiate catch before the bowl game was redshirt freshman Deems May. It goes without saying that adding Harrison to the roster would give UNC football a needed cushion in a key position for the offense.