UNC football lands two commitments for 2026 class

The North Carolina Tar Heels' football program is looking to close out the season on a high note as they face off against rival NC State on Saturday. While UNC isn't bowl-eligible at the moment, the future of the program is riding a hot streak in terms of recruiting.

On Wednesday, North Carolina received some more good news on the recruiting trail. Not only did they land one recruit, but they got two commitments for the 2026 recruiting class.

North Carolina landed another commitment from a former Penn State commit, landing three-star defensive back Julian Peterson. The New Jersey native decommitted from Penn State and reopened his recruitment, picking the Tar Heels over the Clemson Tigers.

He joins two other former Penn State commits in Jaziel Hart and David Davis.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Peterson is ranked No. 600 nationally, No. 46 defensive back and No. 9 player in the state of New Jersey per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

The Tar Heels were also able to flip another Big Ten commit as wide receiver Kymistrii Young flipped from Purdue to North Carolina. The Florida native visited UNC over the weekend for the Duke game. From there, the Tar Heels did enough to land a commitment from him.

Young committed to Purdue in June of 2025 but he continued to take visits. He also took a visit to Penn State as well.

The wide receiver is ranked No. 898 nationally, the No. 217 wide receiver, and the No. 97 player in the state of Florida per the 247Sports rankings.

With the two commitments, North Carolina now has 38 players in the 2026 class, which is ranked No. 17 nationally right now.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: Tar Heels land two commitments in 2026 class