North Carolina trending for 4-star EDGE Austin Anderson

North Carolina is off to a scorching start in the 2025 recruiting class with seven commitments on the board and a top-five class in the ACC. The Tar Heels have loaded up on the offensive side of the ball, with five pledges there, but they’re looking to add one of their top-of-the-board targets to the commit list soon.

Burlington (Ky.) Cooper four-star EDGE Austin Alexander has been a coveted player on UNC’s list since he received an offer in August. And things look to be trending in the Tar Heels’ way as we head deeper into the spring.

On Wednesday, On3’s Steve Wiltfong placed an expert pick in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Mack Brown and Co. to ultimately land Anderson. To do so, they’ll have to fight off in-state Kentucky, Notre Dame and a handful of other programs who would like to add him to their class.

“Ted Monachino and Jason Jones have done a good job in this recruitments,” Wiltfong said of his pick. “He’s been on campus a couple times and is a top of the board target for the Tar Heels. They love him on the edge, and this is a young man that is just as high on what UNC can do for him off the field as they can do for him on it.”

Anderson plays both sides of the ball at the high school level, but is being recruited as an EDGE defender by colleges.

As a junior, he totaled 67 receptions for 1,138 yards and 19 touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he had 81 tackles, 19 sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries.

As a sophomore, he notched 85 total tackles, 11 sacks, an interception, and on offense caught 34 passes for 522 yards and six touchdowns.

More about North Carolina’s 2025 class

After finishing just outside the top 25 of the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings in the 2024 cycle, Brown and Co. are looking to improve on that in 2025.

The seven early commitments, two of whom rank among the top 300 players nationally, will go a long ways toward that. The class is headlined by Gainesville (Ga.) four-star offensive Alex Payne, who committed in January, and four-star quarterback Bryce Baker, who gave the Tar Heels a verbal last summer.

Payne was one of On3’s top performers from the Under Armour Next camp in Atlanta earlier this spring, drawing high praise from Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power.

“We didn’t see an offensive lineman move as well as Alex Payne on Sunday at Under Armour Atlanta,” Power wrote. “The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder showed light-footed athleticism both in drills and during 1-on-1’s. The Gainesville (Ga.) High product carries his weight very well and made easy work of movement drills. He flashed advanced skills in pass protection, quickly getting depth within his set. Payne had two strong reps in 1-on-1’s, beating Tyler Atkinson – a smaller, quick pass rusher – to the edge and showing the ability to anchor on contact. “Payne committed to North Carolina on January 17.”