Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Land First Defensive Player in 2025 Class in 3✮ EDGE

@Kamden2025- Twitter

It has been a quiet few weeks on the recruiting trail for the Tar Heels since the commitment of what will likely be the last player in the 2024 class, wide receiver Javarius Green. The team kicked things back into motion on the recruiting trail by landing their first commitment on the defensive side of the ball on Tuesday.

Earlier this evening, 2025 3✮ EDGE Kamden Laudenslager announced via social media that he was committing to Carolina over Wisconsin, Duke and a host of other Power 5 schools. Laudenslager’s commitment comes after his unofficial visit to Chapel Hill over the weekend for the win over Appalachian State. This was his second trip to campus and clearly showed him everything he needed to see to pull the trigger.

Laudenslager is in the midst of his junior season at McDonogh High School in Owings Mills, MD. In the first two games of the 2023 season, the No. 36 EDGE in the class according to the 247Sports Composite player rankings has registered 17 total tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and three fumble recoveries. This is already a huge step up from last year when he finished the season with 59 total tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in nine games.

Laudenslager is a fun watch on tape. He is a pitbull off the edge, playing with his hair on fire on every play. He has a quick release of the line of scrimmage and has some nice speed around the edge that makes him difficult to stay in front of for some slower offensive tackles. He does have a slight frame at 6’3, 215 lbs, but he is outstanding at shedding blocks and finishing plays in the backfield. He brings a lot of value in the run game, as well, doing a nice job of setting the edge dropping ball carriers in the backfield. This is a guy that is already a top 500 prospect in the class and he has the upside to become a 4✮ prospect before this is all said and done.

With the commitment, the Tar Heels now have two players committed in the 2025 class. The class sits 18th in the 247Sports Composite team rankings after the commitment and fifth in the ACC rankings.