EXCLUSIVE: Cooper McCutchan Reassures His Tar Heels Commitment

The North Carolina Tar Heels have landed many commitments thus far in the 2026 class. One of the players they have landed is Cooper McCutchan.

McCutchan is a tight end commit from the state of Ohio, and committed back on May 7th. Since his commitment, the talented prospect has stayed true to his verbal commitment.

The talented prospect recently caught up with North Carolina Tar Heels On SI to discuss where things stand at this time.

"For me, the official visit was no longer about being a recruit; it was confirmation that I made the right decision and an opportunity to start building a winning culture with the other commits. I’m super excited to become a Tar Heel, and I am confident Coach Belichick is building something special, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it," said the talented commit.

McCutchan went into detail about his thoughts on the 2026 recruiting class.

"This ‘26 recruiting class has been awesome. From the offensive side of things, it’s obvious Burgess is going to be legit. We’ve got some great linemen committed and a bunch of talented receivers. It’s about getting all the right pieces, and it looks like UNC has done that."

He has had the chance to connect with many of the commits. Am ong these commits include Eli Rickell and others.

"I hung out a bunch with offensive linemen Eli Rickell and Mason Wilhelm during my OV. I’ve also connected with Aveon Williams and Aiden Woods, who are the other tight-end commits."

What about peer recruiting?

"I did what I could during my OV and I’ve tried to connect with a bunch of other 2026 commits. At the end of the day, everyone needs to make the decision that’s right for them and I respect that. I was lucky that I knew early where I wanted to be."

The prospect is one of the best players in the class, and there is no secret when it comes to that. He could go many different places, but has remained loyal to Coach Belichick an his staff.

"Absolutely not. I’ve had plenty of options and other offers, but I’m 100% locked in with UNC and couldn’t be more excited about it. UNC offers everything I am looking for as a student-athlete!"

He left off with one last message for this article.

"If you kept up with my recruitment then you know I’m a two-sport athlete at one of the top high schools in the country. Every single week we go looking for the top competition and my film is against some of the most talented football players in the country. I had 30 really good offers to play football, but it only took one visit to UNC to realize this was the right place for me. I’m just getting started and excited to be a Tar Heel!"

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