The Tar Heels are officially on fire in the 2025 class. For a third straight day, the team has landed at least one commitment and this time they have secured their running back room from a depth perspective.
As first reported by Rivals media contributor Steezo Dsgn, 2025 3✮ RB Joseph “JoJo” Troupe has flipped his commitment from Temple to Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels. He had been committed to the Owls since June of last year after choosing them over offers from Arkansas State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Delaware, East Carolina, Florida A&M, Furman, James Madison, Kent State, Rhode Island, South Florida, Toledo, UTSA and Western Kentucky.
Troupe, the No. 1344 overall prospect and No. 101 running back in the class according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, recently concluded his prep career at Berkeley Prep in Tampa, FL. As a senior, Troupe carried the ball 107 times for 707 yards and six touchdowns and caught eight passes for 91 yards in eight games. In his junior season, he played in all 15 games for the Buccaneers, running for 1,504 yards and 16 touchdowns on 237 carries while catching nine passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. That followed a sophomore season where he took over as the starting running back and carried the ball 143 times for 909 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught four passes for 93 yards and a touchdowns. He took over that starting job after he burst onto the scene as a freshman when he ran for 318 yards and seven touchdowns on just 35 carries.
Troupe is another promising young back that can provide some explosive plays out of the backfield. At 5’9, 202 lbs., he is built stout, but he has the speed and acceleration to create home run plays. He doesn’t mess around when it comes to getting downhill because how decisive he is and his ability to put his foot in the ground and change direction makes it difficult for defenders to get their hands on him consistently. If they do get their hands on him, he does have the power to run through some tacklers, just not as many as some of the backs that the Tar Heels have had in recent memory. He doesn’t catch the ball a ton, but when he does, he looks natural and has the ability to turn those into big plays. The biggest question for him will be can he prove himself as a pass protector because he comes from a system that rarely had him do it. There will also be a steeper learning curve for him than others in this class because he comes from the 2A level of high school football in the state of Florida. It might take him some time, but with his explosiveness, he could be the explosive complement to one of the other backs the team brought in during this cycle.
With his commitment, the Tar Heels class is now up to seventeen commits and continues their move up the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. The team now sits 60th in the overall rankings and 14th in the ACC.
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