Did economy keep recruits close to home?

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Butch Davis credits the continuity of his staff, and the team's continued success, for luring 15 in-state recruits to the program.

But he conceded that there might have been another factor: the struggling economy.

"I think that is a little bit of a trend,'' Davis said. "I don't know how many kids we got today that we would have lost, I don't know if there were any of them. But I think that was a subject of every single discussion in almost every home ... because a lot the kids that we signed are within a four or five hour drive to get to Chapel Hill as opposed to two plane connections and maybe a $900 round-trip plane ticket every time mom and dad want to come to a game. I definitely think it made a difference in recruiting throughout the country."

-- Robbi Pickeral