North Carolina added five-star offensive tackle Zach Rice to its 2022 class on Wednesday. Rice chose the Tar Heels over his finalists that included Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Virginia.
He’s a 6-foot-6, 285-pound tackle out of Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia, and is the No. 13 ranked recruit in the class.
Rice is the No. 3 tackle in the class and the top recruit in the state of Virginia. He had taken visits to all of the schools on his list, but chose North Carolina in the end. His commitment gives the Tar Heels at least one five-star commitment in each of the last three classes.
Five-star defensive back Tony Grimes and defensive end Desmond Evans signed in 2020, defensive end Keeshawn Silver in 2021 and now Rice in 2022.
As a top-15 recruit, Rice is now the highest ranked commit in the class for North Carolina, ranked ahead of defensive tackle Travis Shaw, the No. 20 recruit, who had previously been the highest ranked commit.
Now, with Rice on board, coach Mack Brown and his staff have nine ESPN 300 commitments overall.
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