Mack Brown and the UNC football program took a big step forward in the pursuit of a key 2025 recruiting target this week.

South Carolina native Malik Clark has been a big target for the Tar Heels’ football program and now they are a finalist for him. Clark cut his list of 37 offers down to a top five, focusing on North Carolina, NC State, Florida State, South Carolina, and Auburn.

Clark has taken one official visit so far, visiting South Carolina on May 31st but does have visits to North Carolina (June 7), Florida State (June 14), and NC State (June 21).

There’s no timeline for a decision from Clark and with visits coming up mixed in with this top five, it does feel like we are still a bit away from a decision.

As of now, it does sound like North Carolina might be the favorite in this race as they have two crystal ball predictions on 247Sports. The first was logged by an NC State insider and then national recruiting analyst Anna Adams.

Clark is ranked No. 209 overall, the No. 22 wide receiver, and the No. 2 player in the state of South Carolina per 247Sports.

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Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire