North Carolina Recruiting Rundown: August 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's Friday, which means it's time for our recurring recruiting rundown. While we're first and foremost a scouting service, we also want to provide relevant recruiting content when we can.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we never spoil an athlete's commitment, we do pick up nuggets here and there. While things are starting to slow down a bit as players turn their attention to the upcoming high school season, there's still plenty to get to. We'll never spoil an athletes announcement, but we do want to give information where we can.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">August 1 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is just three weeks away, so a lot of people are turning their attention to the games. Still, there's been some recruiting movement, including a few new commitments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here, I'm breaking it all down to give fans, players, and coaches an idea of the movement on the recruiting trail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Another Top Domino Falls</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late-rising defensive back prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1661003' first='Kosci' last='Barnes']</strong> announced his commitment to South Carolina on Saturday, picking the Gamecocks over a unique final four that included Miami, Rutgers, and Kentucky. He's a long corner with size and speed, the kind of guy who could outplay his recruiting ranking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barnes' pledge follows a recent trend of Power Four prospects making their decisions earlier in the process. That's probably due to the NIL era and the importance of picking a school early on at the risk of being left behind. Even Barnes, whose recruitment didn't heat up until well after Grimsley's state championship win, accelerated his process to decide in July.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just eight top-50 prospects remain uncommitted, and most of them are guys we're higher on than the industry seems to be right now. Guys like Cleveland's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076281' first='Cameron' last='Melvin']</strong>, Charlotte Christian's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='736967' first='Cohen' last='Kilgannon']</strong>, and Providence's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='620328' first='Jackson' last='Debe']</strong> have FBS grades from us, but haven't gotten that level of offer yet. With strong senior seasons, it's possible colleges finally step in with offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wake Forest Dispenses More Offers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since getting to Wake Forest in mid-December, head coach Jake Dickert has been quiet in the Tar Heel State, but there's been a lot of work behind the scenes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Demon Deacons have three in-state commits among their 17 2026 pledges, including two intriguing quarterbacks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='690769' first='Gannon' last='Jones']</strong>, the quarterback I named the most accurate in the state in my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/06/2026-qb-superlatives-which-passers-have-the-best-traits/">senior quarterback superlatives</a> last month, committed shortly after receiving an offer back in May. Shortly after, East Lincoln quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671861' first='Grant' last='Lawless']</strong> pledged to the Demon Deacons in mid-June.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They also landed Leesville Road receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1743711' first='Devin' last='Goldston']</strong> a week later, a guy I'm interested to see more of as a senior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Demon Deacons sent out offers to a few of my favorite players in the 2027 class this week, offering elite defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='366314' first='AK' last='Crumel']</strong> from Clayton, C.E. Jordan defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607844' first='Xavier' last='Perkins']</strong>, and box safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1608315' first='Moses' last='Poku-Kankam']</strong> from Providence Day. All three are ranked in the top 40 of our 2027 rankings and it's nice to see the Demon Deacons prioritizing the Tar Heel State after casting a wider net earlier in the offseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other News and Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some other news and notes from around the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High-academic safety-linebacker hybrid <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854270' first='Jonathan' last='Manson']</strong> earned his second and third offers this week, including his first in-state offer from Brevard College.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rolesville RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='378957' first='Amir' last='Brown']</strong> earned an offer from Rutgers.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northern Guilford quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='657710' first='Jaxson' last='Kemp']</strong> earned an offer from Mars Hill University in Asheville.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The offers rolling in from academically-elite Division III schools for Bishop McGuinness's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1694402' first='Ridge' last='Taylor']</strong>, as the impressive edge rusher earned offers from Wooster and Dickinson College this week.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wallace Rose Hill star RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600181' first='Jamarae' last='Lamb']</strong> continued his hot summer on the recruiting trail by picking up an offer from Yale, his third Ivy League offer.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>One of the top defensive backs in the state, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='935584' first='Kenneth' last='Dula IV']</strong>, is on the move after transferring to Chapel Hill from Jordan Matthews. He'll play corner in a talented defensive backfield.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Former Chambers defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1743760' first='Kei'mar' last='Ford']</strong> has transferred to Cannon School and reclassified to the class of 2027, joining an intriguing defensive back.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Did I miss something? Let me know on Twitter (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>).</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->