Texas, Steve Sarkisian Suffers Major Recruiting Loss to U...

By Rowan Fisher-ShottonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

In a late Signing Day development, four-star defensive tackle Vodney Cleveland signed with North Carolina after previously committing to Texas, delivering a meaningful recruiting coup for Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels and a notable miss for Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns.

Cleveland, a 6-3, 305-pound interior lineman from Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama, enters college football as a prospect with near-40 Division I offers and a proven high-school production run — he finished his junior season with 50 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

As such, he's currently 247Sports' No. 28 DL recruit and No. 11 Alabama prospect in the 2026 class.

He originally pledged to Alabama on Oct. 31, 2024, before reopening his recruitment, committing to Texas on June 21, 2025, and finally flipping to UNC on Signing Day.

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For North Carolina, the pickup arrives at a crucial moment.

Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill ended in disappointment, with the Tar Heels dropping to 4-8 (2-6 ACC) after a 42-19 loss to NC State on Saturday.

The season featured separate four-game and three-game losing streaks, highlighted by bad losses to TCU, UCF, Clemson, Wake Forest, and the Wolfpack.

Adding a physically ready interior presence like Cleveland gives UNC both immediate depth on the defensive front and a signal to other prospects that the program can still land high-end talent despite a rocky first season under Belichick.

Recruiting outlets called the move one of the Tar Heels’ biggest Signing Day splashes.

Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian.

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The loss stings for Texas, which entered December with a 9-3 record and a spot just outside the College Football Playoff committee’s top-12 placement.

This year, the Longhorns gave up 30+ points on three occasions and more than 500 yards in several games, areas Cleveland was expected to improve.

Texas still projects as a strong contender next season, but the Longhorns lose a rotational interior piece whose development could have mattered in physical, late-season SEC matchups.

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