Gavin Blackwell kept the four-star, in-state train rolling for Mack Brown on Monday afternoon by committing to North Carolina.

Duke, Florida, LSU, NC State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee are some of the other schools that had offered and were serious contenders for Blackwell, a 5-foot-11, 170-pounder from Monroe (N.C.) Sun Valley High.

"I like North Carolina because it's close to home," Blackwell said. "I love Mack Brown. I love Coach [Lonnie] Galloway. You know my boy, Sam [Howell], is there. And I already have some good relationships with the players already there, so that's pretty big."

Blackwell began visiting UNC as a guest of teammate and close friend Sam Howell during his recruitment. When Howell enrolled at the school -- and subsequently became its starting quarterback -- Blackwell remained a frequent Chapel Hill visitor. Prior to his attendance at last Saturday's junior day, he made an impromptu trip on Jan. 19.

"Since Day One when (Howell) committed, he made it cool to go to North Carolina," Blackwell said. "I always knew Sam was a dog. I felt like he was going to go into college and do what he did, like I didn't doubt him at all. I feel like everything that he did this year wasn't a surprise to me. I couldn't be more happy for him. It was just amazing to watch, honestly, to see him throw passes to me and then just transfer that to the next level and do even better. It was just amazing."

Five games into Blackwell's freshman season of high school, he became a varsity starter at receiver and immediately became a favorite target of Howell's. Blackwell's sophomore campaign, his final season with Howell, was his best: 51 receptions for 1,136 yards and 19 touchdowns.

"Gavin is a very hard worker," Sun Valley High head coach Tad Baucom said. "He's very intense on the field. He listens. He's a very focused young man... He's a humble learner [and] he's very eager to improve daily.

"With his speed, he's great on the vertical [routes]. But, he's also one of the guys that we have that will come across the middle and catch the ball. He fights for balls very hard. I know he's wiry right now, but he has a frame that he can put some weight on later on. He's a very aggressive receiver."

Blackwell is the fourth four-star to pledge to UNC -- Power Echols, Dontavius Nash, and Gabe Stephens preceded him. All five members of the UNC commitment list are N.C. natives.

In addition to his four-star rating, the 247Sports Composite ranks Blackwell as the No. 84 prospect in the nation and the No. 14 wide receiver.