UNC football had 27 players ink their commitments Wednesday to join the Tar Heels as part of coach Mack Brown’s 2024 recruiting class.

On the opening day of the early signing period, the Tar Heels pulled together a class that comes in at No. 25 in the nation, according to the 274Sports Composite rankings. That’s the third-best ranking in the ACC behind Florida State and Clemson.

As it stands, Brown’s sixth recruiting class since his return to Chapel Hill in 2019 would rank fourth. Seven four-star recruits and 20 three-star prospects are set to join UNC.

Breaking down the class further, eight players each from Georgia and North Carolina are included in the Tar Heels’ latest class. There are five players from Florida and three players from Tennessee.

As for positions of priority, UNC added 11 defensive players. Of those, five are defensive backs. Five wide receivers and five offensive linemen make up most of the offensive signees.

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Here’s a look at UNC’s top prospects, its biggest miss and a grade for the early signing period.

How did UNC football recruiting class 2024 rank?

Top signees: ATH Jadien Patterson, No. 14 athlete, No. 172 overall; S Malcom Ziglar, No. 16 wide receiver, No. 176 overall; OT Andrew Rosinski, No. 18 offensive tackle, No. 194 overall

Biggest miss: Weddington wide receiver Keenan Jackson decommitted from the Tar Heels the day before signing day and flipped to NC State. Jackson was MVP of the NCHSAA 4A state championship game.

Grade: B – The Tar Heels are just ahead of NC State for the third-best class in the ACC behind Florida State and Clemson. UNC beefed up its interior with eight linemen and added five defensive backs. Those were clear areas of need.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Grading UNC football’s 2024 recruiting class: How did Tar Heels fare?