UNC Football: Tar Heels trending for five-star DT Travis Shaw

The UNC football program is trending for five-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw just hours before his commitment.

The resurgence of the North Carolina football program since Mack Brown’s return to Chapel Hill three years ago has been quite the sight to behold. A once downtrodden program — that following the Larry Fedora era that started off promising but finished much like the one before it — the Tar Heels went from winning five combined games in 2017 and 2018 to winning 15 games over the past two seasons.

Part of that success is due to the change in scheme and utilization of talent, but a great deal of it also has to do with recruiting — something Brown and his coaching staff have proven to be very good at since he got back on to a college campus following a six-year hiatus from the sideline. One of the first things that Brown did was get now-Heisman Trophy darling Sam Howell to flip his FSU pledge to a UNC commitment. The Tar Heels finished the 2019 recruiting cycle as the 30th-ranked program in the nation.

That was followed with a No. 13 recruiting class in 2020 highlighted by five-star cornerback and surefire future NFL player Tony Grimes, who impressed the nation with his sensational freshman season last year. North Carolina’s 2021 freshman class is ranked similarly at No. 14 in the nation, and is led by five-star defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver and 11 other four-star prospects.

They’re staying hot with seven more four-star prospects for 2022, but looking to add to it with their name in the hat for a number of other prospects that are ranked among the best players in the country at their position. One of them is Travis Shaw, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound defensive lineman that’s No. 4 overall in the 247Sports Composite. He’s set to announce his college decision on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. EST, and most believe that he’ll end up in a Carolina uniform.

Over 90 percent of analysts and insiders for 247Sports have cast their votes for Shaw to pick UNC, and nearly 90 percent of those from Rivals have done the same. That being said, the Tar Heels have stiff competition with the likes of Clemson and Georgia chomping at the bit. The five-star defensive phenom has visited each of his finalists, and 247Sports’ National Analyst Chris Singletary had this to say of why Shaw might pick the Tar Heels:

"“The fact the program is on the rise since Mack Brown got there. They’re preseason Top 10 this year. A lot of excitement here in the state of North Carolina and Tar Heel football. He has a great relationship with Coach Galloway who recruits our school and Coach Cross and those guys have been around a lot the last few years and he’s developed a great relationship with them. Proximity, it’s an hour down the road makes it real easy for family members to get to games. He also has some friends who played in this area who have been recruited and committed to North Carolina as well. That’s not a major swing but it doesn’t hurt.”"

Capturing Shaw’s commitment over the Tigers and Bulldogs would be a huge victory for Brown and the Tar Heels, not only from a recruiting aspect but from what he offers on the field. Shaw is a skilled lineman with enough athleticism to make plays all over the field, on the edge and the interior, as well as being a disruptive presence for the defensive unit as he gets inside the pocket and puts pressure on the quarterback. He’s a projected Power Five starter for each of his upcoming college football seasons, and will undoubtedly take his talents to the NFL in a few short years.

Be sure to follow along with us for more on the Travis Shaw recruitment — and possible commitment — as the day continues. The Greensboro native will be announcing his decision on CBS Sports HQ, and we’ll have complete coverage of it.

For that and more on the UNC football program, check back with Keeping It Heel.