Does UNC Have a Legit Shot Against Alabama for 4-Star QB Jawon Pass?
One of the nation’s most sought-after quarterbacks in the 2016 cycle is 4-star dual-threat passer Jawon Pass.
According to Ryan Bartow of 247Sports, Pass has two programs—Alabama and North Carolina—tied at the top of his list.
While Pass mentioned Notre Dame and Penn State as other schools who he consistently communicates with, at the moment, the Tide and the Tar Heels are set to battle it out for the 6’5”, 220-pounder.
But does North Carolina have what it takes to beat out Alabama for a potential impact player such as Pass?
There are a few reasons that Larry Fedora’s program has a legit shot in this early tug-of-war.
For starters, Fedora’s offense appears to be a more natural fit for a stud such as Pass who can break down defenses with his arm and his legs.
Alabama, by comparison, has run more of a traditional pro-style set during head coach Nick Saban’s tenure—although it altered that a bit last season with Blake Sims at the helm.
Also, the Tide just brought in 5-star passer and 2015 early enrollee Blake Barnett—who was the crown jewel of the Tide's top-rated 2015 class. Additionally, the Tide already have former touted recruits such as David Cornwell and Cooper Bateman on campus who are talented underclassmen capable of competing for the Tide’s vacancy at quarterback.
Even though Fedora has signed at least one passer in each of his four recruiting classes since arriving in Chapel Hill, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut successor to rising senior Marquise Williams—at least not yet.
The current backup, Mitch Trubisky, completed less than 54 percent of his passes while throwing for 459 yards and five touchdowns with four interceptions last season.
Should Pass opt to head to Chapel Hill, he would give Fedora a similar, and perhaps a more polished, version of Williams—who accounted for 3,856 yards of total offense and 34 touchdowns in his first year as a starter.
As a junior at Carver High School in Columbus, Georgia, Pass accounted for 2,601 yards of total offense with 23 touchdown passes and another 11 scores coming on the ground.
Pass will visit both schools in the near future.
Bartow reports that the Columbus, Georgia, native plans to visit North Carolina for almost an entire week, beginning next week, while Alabama will host him the following weekend:
“I want to see how the players are there and I want my mom to meet the coaches and see the campus,” Pass told Bartow on his thoughts about his visit to Chapel Hill. “(Tar Heels) coach (Larry) Fedora is a great guy. They run a fast-paced offense. It’s more throwing than running but they said they can do a lot of things with me because I can run and throw. It’s like Carver’s offense.”
His familiarity with Fedora’s system is another plus that could ensure a seamless transition to the college level.
While Alabama is a recruiting heavyweight that can never be counted out when they are aggressively pursuing a top target, North Carolina appears to have enough ammunition to win out for Pass’ services in the end.
Collegiate stats via CFBstats.com unless otherwise noted.
Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
