Given the Tar Heel State’s longstanding ties to college football, it’s of some surprise that the none of four Power Five schools in North Carolina have ever captured a national title.
Still, the Triangle stalwarts of Duke, North Carolina State, North Carolina and Wake Forest have enjoyed a lot of the talent that has come through the state over the years.
So BetCarolina.com, as part of our NC betting sites coverage, wanted to see where North Carolina ranks nationally for blue-chip football talent. Hint: The Tar Heel State ranks in the top 10 nationally since 2014 (methodology explained below).
Most Blue Chip Recruits By State (Since 2014)
Rank | State | Blue Chippers |
1. | Texas | 540 |
2. | Florida | 504 |
3. | California | 490 |
4. | Georgia | 364 |
5. | Louisiana | 168 |
6. | Ohio | 165 |
7. | North Carolina | 159 |
8. | Alabama | 158 |
9. | Virginia | 112 |
10. | Tennessee | 108 |
See our guide to college football betting in North Carolina as the season approaches.
Where North Carolina Ranks
In the past decade, North Carolina has produced the seventh most blue-chip high school prospects – we define this as five-star or four-star prospects according to 247 Sports. The state has produced 159 such players from 2014 to 2024.
Still, the four members of the ACC from the state have yet to bring home any national hardware – the only members of the conference to do so are Clemson (1981, 2016 and 2018), Florida State (1993, 1999 and 2013) and Georgia Tech (1990). In fact, no North Carolina school has even won a league title since Wake Forest in 2006.
ACC Football Odds 2024
This year, NC State has the best odds of the four state ACC teams of winning the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Bet365 North Carolina Sportsbook gives the Wolfpack +10000 odds of winning it all in 2024, ranking in a tie for 24th overall.
Throw in UNC at +15000 and the pair of Duke and Wake at +80000 each and you have an idea of the long odds that ACC teams from the Tar Heel State face. As for the state’s other Football Bowl Subdivision teams, Appalachian State (+100000), East Carolina ECU (+20000) and Charlotte (+300000) face even longer title odds.
Check out a myriad of other college football wagering options and stick with BetCarolina.com for the top North Carolina sportsbook promos available.
How NC Compares To Other States
Of the 50 states and Washington D.C. that were surveyed, North Carolina’s total blue-chip prospect count of 159 ranked seventh overall, directly behind No. 6 Ohio (165) and ahead of No. 8 Alabama (158).
Nationally, football hotbeds Texas (540), Florida (504), California (490), Georgia (364) and Louisiana (168) produced the most four-and-five-star prospects out of high school between 2014 and 2024.
Conversely, seven states (Alaska, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont and Wyoming) failed to produce a single football prospect rated above three stars. North Dakota and Rhode Island had one apiece and Delaware had two.
North Carolina sports betting apps have odds on conference champions, game lines and much more.
Even without any national titles, at least the state of North Carolina knows that the high school football talent pipeline is alive and well, from the shores of the Atlantic toward the rugged peaks of the Appalachian Mountains.
USA Today photo by Rob Kinnan
