Larry Fedora landed his first football recruit as coach at North Carolina on Monday night when quarterback Kanler Coker, from Flowery Branch, Ga., committed to cap a quick decision process.
Coker, a 6-foot-4, 217-pound senior, previously had committed to East Carolina. North Carolina's coaches found out about him when they were visiting Flowery Branch to look at a receiver and were reviewing game film.
Coker made his decision after meeting with Fedora late Monday.
"It did happen quick, but at the same time they've been talking to me for a few weeks now," Coker said. "I had been anticipating it. I had been thinking about.
"I knew when the time came what I was going to do."
Coker called the East Carolina coaches after making his decision to tell them that he was withdrawing from their class to play for the Tar Heels.
"I'll say the East Carolina coaches were really good to me," Coker said. "It wasn't the best (situation to have to tell them), but at the same time they wished me the best. They hoped that I have a bright future and wished me the best of luck."
A need for a quarterback in the class arose when Patton Robinette, a commitment from Maryville, Tenn., decided to enroll at Vanderbilt for the second semester after North Carolina's coaching change.
Coker played one season at Flowery Branch; he previously played at North Hall High School in Gainesville, Ga., where the team ran a wing-T offense and Coker said he had little opportunity to pass or run. He transferred to Flowery Branch to play in a spread offense, where he passed for 2,089 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. He amassed 3,800 yards total offense, and went from having almost no recruiting attention to becoming a target for some big schools, according to coach Chris Griffin of Flowery Branch. Notre Dame and Mississippi became interested in Coker after his senior season.
"It didn't take long at all to realize what a special kid he is," Griffin said. "It was amazing to see him develop. The strides he would take in a day or a week were what you'd want to see a typical kid to take in a month. It was like he had never played in another offense."
Coker is the Tar Heels' 16th commitment. He can sign a binding national letter of intent on Feb. 1, when the NCAA's football signing period begins.
"My arm is going to get better," Coker said. "Coach Fedora said I'm probably throwing with about 60 percent of the strength I could be throwing with, which gives me a huge upside. I've always been able, when stuff breaks down, that I can make something happen."
Coker will compete for playing time at North Carolina with Bryn Renner, the starter last season as a sophomore, and Marquise Williams, who redshirted in 2011 as a freshman.
"They said they would give me a shot at the quarterback spot," Coker said. "Renner's a great quarterback, but I'm going to get a shot. That's what I want to hear."
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