The Tar Heels are continuing their run of late additions in the 2025 class as National Signing Day approaches.
According to a report from Scott Eisberg, sports director at WCIV in Charleston, SC, 2025 unranked DL Yasir Smith will be switching his plans for National Signing Day and will sign with the Tar Heels according to his high school’s athletic director. This report came just a few hours after Smith received an offer from Bill Belichick and the Tar Heel football program on Monday.
Smith recently concluded his senior season with Summerville High School in Summerville, SC where he finished with all-region and all-state honors and was a replacement along the defensive line for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. Prior to this season, he spent most of his time on the offensive side of the football at tight end.
Smith is another developmental defensive lineman that this staff will have to make a decision on. At 6’5, 265 lbs., his body style would suggest that the best fit for him is at edge rusher, but his film shows he might fit better at defensive tackle, meaning he will have to put on some weight and strength when he arrives on campus. Like a lot of the other commitments the team has recently picked up, he has a high motor and plays with a nice level of physicality. He does a tremendous job of getting his hands up to bat passes down, something that you don’t see from every pass rusher at the high school level. He has decent speed, but not enough to win with it consistently on the edge. The same can be said about his technical pass rush moves, which aren’t shown a lot on film and aren’t as effective as they would need to be. The plan for Smith should be to add weight to his frame and kick him inside to defensive tackle where he could eventually become part of the rotation down the line.
With this report, the Tar Heels are currently expected to sign 13 players on Wednesday and have seven commitments along the defensive line. The Tar Heels class sits at No. 43 overall and No. 10 ACC thanks to recent commits being re-ranked and this could end up being a slight boost, as well, when it’s all said and done.