RECRUITING: UNC and Coach Belichick Add 2 Commitments

North Carolina was Stephens first P4 offer, back in February 2025. Since then, Ole Miss, Purdue and SMU joined the chase. He had scheduled June official visits to North Carolina and Purdue before making his decision on Saturday.

Despite only being 5-foot-7 and 170-pounds, Stephens has dominated at the high school level. Over the last two seasons at Sheridan High School, Stephens rushed for 2,907 yards and 42 touchdowns, while grabbing 109 receptions for 1,530 yards and 13 touchdowns.

As for Butler, the 6-foot-0, 230-pound linebacker received his offer from the Tar Heels almost two months ago. That joined a previous P4 offer from Syracuse and had since been followed by Pittsburgh. He had scheduled June official visits to North Carolina and Syracuse.

At Glassboro High School, Butler impressed in 2025 with 138 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

These two three-star commitments won’t move the needle nationally, but they may give the Tar Heels the recruiting momentum they need during the upcoming chaotic spring months.

North Carolina now has five Class of 2027 commitments, with four of the five now coming from outside the Tar Heel State. The other three commitments are athlete Marquis Bryant (Rolesville, NC), athlete Skylar Robinson (West Hills, CA) and safety Charles Roberts (Bradenton, FL).