The rush of Wednesday's national signing day has barely subsided and North Carolina has already received its first commitment for the 2011 football recruiting year.
Everett Golson, a junior at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) High School, committed to UNC yesterday in an announcement at his school. A 6-1, 175-pound quarterback, Golson also plans to walk on to the UNC basketball team.
Golson is expected to be one of the nation's top quarterbacks next season after leading Myrtle Beach to a Class 3-A state runner-up spot this season and to the 2008 state title. He can sign a binding national letter of intent in February 2011 as a high-school senior.
Coach Mickey Wilson of Myrtle Beach said that several factors influenced Golson's choice from among a group of schools that had already offered Golson scholarships: Virginia Tech, Stanford, Michigan, Clemson, Duke and East Carolina.
"I think the biggest thing is that he's always been a North Carolina fan," Wilson said. "It's a dream come true, the opportunity to play at North Carolina. He wanted to establish himself as the quarterback of the future at the University of North Carolina."
Golson completed 63 percent of his passes as a junior for 3,529 yards and 47 touchdowns. He was intercepted three times. He led Myrtle Beach to a 13-2 record, after leading the 2008 title team to a 14-1 record.
Golson is 39-4 as a starter. He has completed 659 passes in 1,061 career attempts (62 percent) for 9,872 yards and 126 touchdowns. He has 24 career interceptions.
He joined the Myrtle Beach program as an eighth-grader and became the starting quarterback as a ninth-grader. Wilson said that a ninth-grader becoming the starting quarterback is unusual for the Myrtle Beach program, but added that Golson has all-around athletic ability.
"He has great vision, and that's something you can't teach," Wilson said. "He can see things happen before they happen. He's got a great arm. He can make all the throws -- the deep comeback and the deep post. He has great touch on curls and seams and cross routes."
The possibility of playing in Coach Roy Williams' basketball program appealed to Golson as well. He is a key player on Myrtle Beach's basketball team.
"North Carolina has a history of guys doing that," Wilson said. "They've had Julius Peppers and Ronald Curry do it. That's something that attracted him to North Carolina as well.
"I think he'll have an opportunity to help both programs out. He's athletic enough to do it. He's going to have some fun and some great opportunities at North Carolina."
bcole@wsjournal.com
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