This weekend was the first set of on-campus visits for the Tar Heels following the recruiting dead period and it was apparently a very successful one. Earlier today, 2024 4✮ RB Davion Glause committed to the Tar Heels after his trip to campus and just a short time ago, he was joined by another visitor who spent the weekend in Chapel Hill.
Earlier this evening, 2024 ATH Khalil Conley announced his commitment to the Tar Heels over Duke, NC State, Virginia Tech and others. The Tar Heels were one of the first to offer the 6’0, 170 lbs. in-state prospect back in early January when his recruitment starter took off following a big junior season. Conley has been a frequent visitor to campus, with this being the third trip, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that he has popped as early as he has.
Conley is entering his final season at the prep level which he’ll play at Christ School in Arden, NC. Last season in his first year with the team, he was one of the most valuable players for the Greenies, playing both wide receiver and defensive back for the NCISAA-Division I runner-ups. He led the team in receiving with 39 catches for 736 yards and five touchdowns and finished with 31 total tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, two interceptions and five pass deflections as the team’s best defensive back.
Prior to that, he spent the first three seasons of his prep career at Asheville High School where he saw nearly all of his snaps at quarterbacks. He took over as the team’s starter back in the middle of the spring season in 2021 and started the rest of the game down the stretch leading the Cougars back to the 3A state playoffs after a one-year absence. In the fall of that year, he led the Cougars to a 9-3 season with a perfect record in conference, giving the team their first conference title since 2014. Conley finished his career there with 2,221 passing yards, a 29-6 TD-INT ratio, as well as 910 rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns.
Conley is as explosive of an athlete as anyone in this class. He was a major part of all three units for Christ School a year ago and will be a valuable asset that will be able to make an impact early He may have the best pure speed and acceleration of any player in this entire class and it shows up in all three phases. He simply flies around defensively and uses that speed to make plays on the football and on ball carriers. That speed allows him to create separation pretty easily and makes him even more dangerous when he has the football in his hands. On special teams, it shows up in the return and coverage games, making him a special teams ace. If he could find a way to settle in at safety, that would be ideal and it feels like that makes the most sense, but he could be an impact player in the slot at receiver if he sticks on the offensive side of the ball. He will have to add weight to his frame, but, at the least, he will be able to make an immediate impact on special teams.
Conley’s commitment gives the Tar Heels their fifth commitment in the cycle and their second from the home state. Because he is an unranked prospect, the class does not move in the overall rankings at the moment, but one would expect that he will not be unranked that long. Now, the Tar Heels will have their eyes set on landing his teammate, 4✮ LB Cayden Jones.
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