UNC football reached the finish line first among the ACC's Triangle schools on Wednesday, securing 27 national letters of intent from future Tar Heels before noon to wrap up the opening day of the early signing period.

As it stands, coach Mack Brown’s 2024 class is slated to be the third-best group in the ACC behind perennial powers Florida State and Clemson. The Tar Heels are 25th in the 247Sports Composite rankings, just ahead of rival NC State (27).

With seven four-star recruits, UNC has one more than it did in the 2023 group. Looking at the last six recruiting classes, the 2024 class ranks fourth.

Here’s a deeper look at what stands out about the Tar Heels' latest recruiting class.

UNC football goes to Georgia for Jaiden Patterson, others

The Tar Heels snagged eight players from the Tar Heel State, but Georgia matched that number. Five of UNC’s top players in the class are from Georgia, including defensive back Jaiden Patterson.

Patterson, a four-star recruit and the top-ranked player in UNC’s class, is an early enrollee who did a little bit of everything at Mill Creek. In his final two high school seasons, Patterson returned two interceptions for touchdowns, caught four TD passes, returned two punts for TDs and blocked six kicks.

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Offensive tackle Andrew Rosinski, defensive backs Tyshun White and Zion Ferguson, and linebacker Evan Bennett are UNC’s other top prospects from the Peach State.

Drake Maye is gone, so what’s QB look like for the Tar Heels?

UNC quarterback Drake Maye, arguably the Tar Heels’ top quarterback in program history, is set to enter the 2024 NFL Draft. With Maye out of the picture, former Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson joined the Tar Heels via the transfer portal.

Conner Harrell will start for UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, but third-string QB Jefferson Boaz is set to enter the portal.

So what about the quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class? Well, Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Michael Merdinger was UNC’s lone prospect at that position in the early signing period. Merdinger is a three-star recruit from Florida who had 26 TDs as a senior and 2,850 passing yards.

Malcolm Ziglar, defense a priority for Mack Brown

It’s clear defense continues to be a top priority for Mack Brown. The Tar Heels added 11 defenders from the 2024 class, including five defensive backs. Malcolm Ziglar, a Fuquay-Varina native, is projected to be the best of the bunch as a four-star recruit. Ziglar, who had 13 interceptions in three seasons, is also an All-American in track and field.

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

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Unpacking UNC football’s 2024 recruiting class – and its ceiling