We are in the midst of the 2025 recruiting cycle as the Tar Heels search for the future stars they hope can finally take them to the next level. Like every recruiting class, this one will contain some gems and some busts. This got us to thinking, who are the biggest Tar Heel recruiting busts of the modern recruiting era? Here are the ten guys that I think were the most disappointing during that time period.
1. 2009 4✮ ILB Justin Dixon
Rankings: No. 154 overall, No. 11 ILB
This is a name that most Tar Heel fans probably don’t even remember and for good reason. Dixon not only failed to take a snap for the team, he never even went through a practice. He would eventually land at East Carolina and put together a solid career, but this was a complete flop from the Tar Heel side of things and can’t be anywhere but at the top of this list.
2.2013 4✮ DT Greg Webb
Rankings: No. 140 overall, No. 13 DT
Webb was the highest rated player in the Tar Heels’ 2013 class but lasted just one year in Chapel Hill before he transferred to Hutchinson Community College. He never took a single snap in a Tar Heel uniform, one of the few players of his caliber to accomplish that dubious feat. After all the work that staff had to do to flip him from Penn State, it’s hard to have anyone else atop this list.
3. 2018 4✮ DT Brant Lawless-Sherrill
Rankings: No. 256 overall, No. 22 DT
Speaking of defensive tackle recruits that never took a snap in a Tar Heel uniform, Lawless-Sherrill didn’t even last as long as Webb did with the program. He spent just one spring with the team after the staff spent months working to get him to flip from Tennessee. The only reason he isn’t at the top spot is because he isn’t as highly ranked as some of the guys on this list were.
4. 2007 4✮ PRO Mike Paulus
Rankings: No. 84 overall, No. 6 PRO
Everyone remembers the quarterback success of the hidden recruiting gem T.J. Yates from the Butch Davis era, but you might forget the failure of his highest rated quarterback recruit. Paulus, who would become an even bigger villain once his brother landed at Duke, played just three games in a Tar Heel uniform, all in the 2008 season in place of the injured Yates. He would complete just four of 13 pass attempts for 33 yards and two interceptions before transferring at the conclusion of the season. Yates’ success definitely takes some of the sting out of this one, but it’s impossible not to have him on this list.
5. 2007 4✮ WR Rashad Mason
Rankings: No. 145 overall, No. 19 WR
We go right back to the 2007 class for another highly rated member of the offense that could never find a way to make an impact in a Tar Heel uniform. Mason was with the team for two years and was making the move to tight end before the 2009 season when he was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. He would later be dismissed from the team, concluding his Tar Heel tenure with just one game played and no catches.
6. 2011 4✮ OT Kiaro Holts
Rankings: No. 73 overall, No. 6 OT
Holts is the guy who played the games in his Tar Heel career on this list, but it is not one that people will remember fondly. In four years with the team, he played in just ten games and started just two, both in his final year with the team. He would forego his final season of eligibility, sealing his fate as one of the biggest recruiting busts in program history.
7. 2017 4✮ OT Jonah Melton
Rankings: No. 144 overall, No. 9 OT
One of the biggest in-state gems of the Larry Fedora era, Melton was expected to be the future of the offensive line as the headliner of the 2017 class. Unfortunately, due to injury, he was only able to play in one game in his two seasons with the program before he would retire following spring camp in 2019. There was a lot of potential there for Melton, but he has to go down as one of the biggest busts of the Fedora era.
8. 2008 4✮ OG Kevin Bryant
Rankings: No. 140 overall, No. 5 OG
Not to be confused with the Tar Heel running back legend, Bryant was another highly rated offensive line prospect who could never live up to expectations before an early exit. He spent two seasons with the program but was only able to play in seven games, mostly on special teams. He was set to return for a third season in Chapel Hill and compete for a bigger role, but departed the program following a misdemeanor assault on a female charge.
9. 2009 4✮ CB Josh Hunter
Rankings: No. 241 overall, No. 22 CB
Hunter was another highly rated in-state prospect who never really found his footing at UNC before transferring. In his two seasons in Chapel Hill, Hunter played in just eight games, finishing with two total tackles in his short career. Following the dismissal of Butch Davis, he would leave the program, ending what could have been a promising career in Chapel Hill.
10. 2014 4✮ PRO Caleb Henderson
Rankings: No. 205 overall, No. 10 PRO
Henderson was the highly rated quarterback prospect in the Fedora era that never really panned out. To be fair to him, he did have to deal with Marquise Williams and Mitch Trubisky ahead of him on the depth chart, but he was never a part of any of the quarterback battles the two had and wasn’t willing to wait behind them. He headed to Maryland, where he was buried on the depth chart as well and struggled in the limited snaps that he did see. Had he stayed in Chapel Hill, he would have had the chance in 2017 to be the quarterback that saved Fedora’s job.