4-star defensive lineman Joel Starlings commits to North Carolina

Richmond (Va.) Benedictine Prep defensive lineman Joel Starlings only needed one official visit to know where he wanted his next home to be.

On Monday, Starlings announced his commitment to North Carolina after a weekend trip to see the Tar Heels.

He is the No. 233 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 32 defensive lineman and the No. 4 prospect in Virginia this cycle.

1000% COMMITTED!!!!!! Recruitment shut down, thanks to everybody who took a chance on me! no interviews will be done at this time. pic.twitter.com/RwxHf3qWdp

— GЯIM RΣΛPΣЯ (@JoelStarlings) May 23, 2022

He chose the Tar Heels over fellow finalists Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder previously named his 12 top schools in March, and it included the Tar Heels, as well as South Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State, Georgia, and Texas A&M.

Starlings was previously committed to Michigan. He pledged to the Wolverines when defensive line coach Shaun Nua was employed there. But Nua left for USC after last season.

Joel Starlings currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $10.8k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.