National Signing Day 2026 has arrived, and scores of high school football prospects across North Carolina are making their college choices official.
At NC Football News, we’re tracking where North Carolina high school prospects are signing — across FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA and JUCO — while also monitoring continuing activity in the transfer portal.
This page serves as a National Signing Day 2026 snapshot, with live links to our continually updated trackers below.
What We’re Following Here
📌 The latest high school signees from North Carolina
📌 D2 and FCS programs finalizing classes
📌 Final additions to North Carolina FBS programs who inked much of their 2026 classes in December
📌 Transfer portal additions involving NC college and players
SO PROUD of My Grandson. He's busted his ass since 10/11 yo to get here and he DID IT. Only 5 to 7% of Hs Football players go on to play at ANY level in College and he's one of them. CAN'T WAIT to watch him play in College. The Cullens are coming.😁 LFG BRAVES, LFG‼️🔥🔥💪👏 https://t.co/O66WHnsgT4 — Lloyd Cullen (@Cul_Ll74) February 4, 2026
NC Football News’ Recruiting & Transfer Trackers
Below are our live recruiting and transfer trackers, updated throughout National Signing Day and the day ahead as announcements are made and confirmed.
This is the central place to follow where North Carolina prospects are signing and to follow transfer movement to and from our state’s college programs.
- North Carolina High School Commitment Tracker (all levels)
- North Carolina College Football Commitment Tracker (players coming to NC FBS and FCS programs)
- FBS Transfer Portal Tracker
- FCS Transfer Portal Tracker
- D2 Transfer Portal Tracker
Quick Hits and Snapshots from National Signing Day 2026 in North Carolina
New Gardner-Webb coach announces first recruiting class – 41 strong
Gardner-Webb and new head coach Kris McCullough announced a 41-member signing class on Wednesday. That included 32 transfers and nine high school signees.
“FIRED UP for our initial class here at Gardner-Webb,” McCullough posted on X on Wednesday evening. “This class of 2026, including early signing period signees, is the BEST signing class in the history of the GWU Football according to 247sports rankings.”
Four of the high school prospects hail from GWU’s backyard. Three players signed from Shelby High’s 3A state championship team and one from Crest High’s 5A state title unit.
The headliner from the local class is quarterback Lan Farmer, who threw for more than 10,000 yards during his career at Shelby. He accounted for 10 (!) touchdowns – including eight passing – in Shelby’s record-breaking 84-41 win over Kinston in the 3A championship game. Other local players include WR Lorenzo Roseboro (Shelby), DL Noah Gartner (Shelby) and WR Michael Edwards (Crest).
WCU lands former NCSU, Heritage High QB
Lex Thomas, a former North Carolina State backup quarterback who prepped at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, joins WCU’s transfer class. Thomas appeared in four games at NCSU over the past two seasons, completing 7 of 15 passes for 83 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He threw for 3,000+ yards at Heritage.
Lenoir-Rhyne inks North Carolina-heavy signing class
Lenoir-Rhyne and coach Doug Socha leaned heavily on North Carolina prospects when assembling the Bears’ 2026 freshman class. Lenoir-Rhyne inked 26 players from the Old North State as part of its 41-member class. The Bears also landed seven players from South Carolina, six from Georgia and two from Florida.
The two biggest position groups in this year’s class were offensive linemen (11) and defensive back (11). Three in-state prospects hailed from North Davidson High.
Catawba inks 26 in signing day class
The Catawba Indians made one of the biggest jumps last season, going from three wins to a 7-4 campaign
Coach Tyler Haines retooled for 2026 with a 26-member class that included six transfers – including four from FCS programs. Catawba’s class was North Carolina heavy overall, with Haines and staff mining the western part of the state well.
New WSSU coach begins building his first CIAA roster
Tory Woodbury knows plenty about what it takes to win in the CIAA. He was a star quarterback at Winston-Salem State before going on to an NFL career. Now he’s back at his alma mater, building his first roster as WSSU’s head coach.
Woodbury and the Rams released the names of more than a dozen signees on Wednesday, including two transfers from Norfolk State – wide receiverTaron Biles and outside linebacker Avir Johnson – where Woodbury last served as an assistant.
One of Woodbury’s biggest tasks on offense will be to replace multi-year starting quarterback Daylin Lee, who transferred to Tennessee State. To that end, the Rams signed Greensboro’s Brayden Jeffries, who averaged 204.8 yards per game through the air for 6A Dudley High in 2025.
UNC gets late addition to 2026 high school class
The Tar Heels and Bill Belichick added a monster offensive lineman at the 11th hour, picking up a commitment from three-star Dujuan Davis of Clearwater, FL two days before National Signing Day. Davis is listed by 247Sports as 6-9, 400 pounds.
He was prepared to sign with new FCS program Chicago State before North Carolina came in with a late offer. “UNC has been in contact with me since my freshman year, I like how no matter how long it took to happen, they still had interest in me,” Davis told 247Sports.
More Quick Hits
- Tight end Jake Young spent 2023 and 2024 at Western Carolina before transferring to Charlotte for the 2025 campaign. The former Marvin Ridge standout, who played in all 12 of Charlotte’s games, will transfer back to WCU for 2026. “Got some unfinished business to attend to. Running it back for Year 5,” Young posted on X back in January.
- As of late Wednesday night, there is still no news about where Taron Dickens, WCU’s record-setting quarterback in 2025, plans to play in 2026. There have been many rumors since the portal opened – Syracuse? Tennessee? Duke? Back at WCU – but Dickens’ account on X has been quiet since mid-January. Dickens threw for 3,508 yards and 38 TDs (only 2 INTs) last season.
- Oak Grove defensive lineman Ben Boulware, who had multiple Power 4 offers, committed to North Carolina A&T back in November. Boulware (6-5, 305), whose offer list included schools like Michigan, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and UNC, officially signed with the Aggies on Wednesday. A huge pick up for coach Shawn Gibbs’ defensive line.
We’ll continue to add big-picture notes, news and observations here as the day progresses — including notable signings, late commitments and trends involving North Carolina players and programs.
Because some schools release signing information later in the day (or in the days that follow), this section may continue to grow beyond National Signing Day as additional details become available.
NC Football News maintains these recruiting trackers as living records of North Carolina football, updated year-round as commitments and roster movement are confirmed.
Are we missing a commitment or signing? Tag NC Football News on X to let us know.
2026 College Football Schedules
College football season will be here before you know it. Check out spring football games, your favorite teams’ schedules and a week-by-week breakdown of games on the North Carolina college football calendar for 2026:
🌱 Spring Football Game Schedule – Updated as schools announce dates
🏫 Team Schedules Hub – Browse full-season schedules by school
🗓️ Weekly Master Schedule – View all games organized by week
