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University of Kansas football recruiting

Updated 11:07 a.m. Monday, June 15, 2026::

A week after declaring himself “1000% committed” to the Kansas football program, cornerback Nazir Pitchford has instead flipped to North Carolina.

He announced his decision in a post on X on Monday morning. Zach Blostein of 247Sports had initially reported Pitchford’s decommitment from KU on Sunday afternoon while noting that he was expected to flip to UNC. Pitchford shared Blostein’s article on X and posted a photo from his ongoing visit.

Later on Sunday, Pitchford responded to a separate 247Sports report from Michael Swain suggesting that he “was no longer considered a member of KU’s 2027 class when he officially took the North Carolina visit this weekend” by writing, “I just want to clear something up–this wasn’t a situation where one side made the decision on its own. We came to a mutual agreement after having honest conversations and discussing what was best moving forward.”

Previously, Pitchford was part of the cluster of seven prospects who had traveled Lawrence over the weekend of June 6 and committed to the Jayhawks in the span of just over a day, along with defensive end C.J. Johnson; defensive tackle Quentin Dorsey; linebacker Elliott Neff; and wide receivers Maliek Brown, Tavares Powell and Jay Williams.

But Pitchford, from Palmetto High School in Florida, kept his trip to UNC on the schedule for the following weekend and soon deleted his KU commitment post.

Prior to pledging his services to the Jayhawks, he had once been Kansas State’s first commitment in the class under its new head coach Collin Klein before backing out and picking KU over Boston College, Pittsburgh and North Carolina — for a brief moment.

A 6-foot-1, 175-pound corner, Pitchford tallied six tackles and a pass breakup on defense as a junior last season while adding 22 catches for 344 yards and seven touchdowns on offense. He had told Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com that his relationship with position coach Brandon Shelby and the program’s broader trajectory helped sway him to KU.

Now, KU will have to ensure it retains Powell, from Bradenton, Florida, who is reportedly Pitchford’s cousin. It also no longer has a cornerback in its 16-man recruiting class and may need to pivot in another direction this summer. Two seniors at the position are set to exhaust their eligibility next year in Syeed Gibbs and Ball State transfer Roman Pearson.