Back in February, Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry got a commitment from wide receiver Carnell Warren from South Carolina. The four-star commit was a huge pickup for the wide receiver group in the Class of 2026.
Warren de-committed from the Hokies in June and reopened his recruiting, which came as somewhat of a surprise. Shortly after de-committing from Virginia Tech, he took an official visit to Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina, and Bill Belichick, and he committed to the Tar Heels on Wednesday.
All glory to god. My recruitment is shut down! Chapel hill let’s go! https://t.co/de7w0H3yqu
— Carnell Warren (@carnw18) July 9, 2025
Former Virginia Tech football commit Carnell Warren commits to North Carolina
Warren's commitment to UNC gives Belichick another four-star wide receiver in the Class of 2026, who he is loading up with talent. Just how long Belichick remains in Chapel Hill to see the talent in the class develop remains to be seen, but Warren is the second Virginia Tech commit in the class to de-commit after four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone de-committed and committed to Penn State, before flipping his commitment to Auburn last month.
The eighth-ranked prospect from South Carolina, Warren, also had offers from Michigan, Mississippi State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, but he only took a visit to Chapel Hill.
We wrote last month that Warren taking a visit to North Carolina is a nightmare scenario for Pry and Virginia Tech if he ended up there, and it became reality on Wednesday. Just how his career ends up going with the Tar Heels remains to be seen, but this is a tough recruiting setback in terms of the Class of 2026, getting Warren, then having him de-commit to end up at North Carolina. Pry is still looking to replace both key de-commits from the Class of 2026, Falzone and Warren.