Commitment breakdown: North Carolina reels in Rivals100 WR Andre Greene Jr.
The recruitment of Andre Greene Jr. got off to a fast start with major offers like Georgia coming in pretty early in the process. The Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher's receiver wowed on his sophomore film with his highlight reel catches and incredible ball skills that caught the eye of programs across the country and his offer sheet grew exponentially, numbering in the 50s.
Like many other prospects, the pandemic really made things difficult for Greene to do the research he needed. Visits were delayed until this past June when he hit the road in a big way. Teams like Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, and Clemson got visits this spring and summer.
Clemson emerged as an early favorite because it was his childhood dream school. Their tradition at the receiver position caught his eye and he's marveled at their skills and the way they developed while on campus. Clemson, however, did not offer until this summer when he was there for a camp. Dabo Swinney and his staff worked hard to maintain their early edge but that proved to be a tall task. North Carolina, Georgia, LSU, and Penn State all did a great job getting Greene's attention. Unable to work out a visit date, Penn State and LSU fell out of contention. Georgia's success this season helped the Bulldogs muscle their way back into contention but they were also unable to get him back on campus this month. North Carolina emerged as the other top contender, building momentum throughout July and August and into the season.
Multiple visits to the Chapel Hill campus along with return trips to Clemson helped Greene figure out where he wanted to play at the next level. In the end, North Carolina was able to withstand that final push from Clemson and land Greene's commitment, their top remaining target in the 2022 class.
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CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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WHAT THE TAR HEELS ARE GETTING
Greene is an outstanding receiver prospect with exceptional ball skills and the ability to make contested catches look easy. He can elevate over defensive backs, high-pointing the ball with ease, and routinely makes acrobatic catches towards the sideline and deep down the field. He also has a great catch radius that quarterbacks are going to really love. Greene isn't just a deep threat. He has solid route running skills with explosiveness out of his cuts that help him separate from defensive backs. His big frame makes him a great target over the middle and his speed and agility allow him to make defenders miss in the open field. Greene's size helps him break tackles with the ball in his hands, bouncing off defensive backs when they try to bring him down. There's plenty of room for Greene to fill out once his gets to college but his speed, size, and incredible ball skills make him one of the top receivers in this class. Route running will be an area of development for him at the next level.
WHY IT'S BIG FOR NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina got a major win with Greene's commitment. Getting him onboard marks now two huge commitments they've beat ACC rival Clemson for, with five-star Travis Shaw being the other. These are two recruits that the Tigers would have easily landed in previous recruiting cycles but the emergence of the Tar Heels over the last couple of seasons and the Tigers' sudden downturn this year helped swing momentum in favor of Mack Brown and his program.
Tar Heels don't have any receiver like Greene on their roster, a tall target who can make tough catches down the field with the skillset to take short catches and turn them into big gains. The combination of him with Joshua Downs and some of the other prospects that North Carolina has coming up through the ranks gives the Tar Heels some prolific and very talented receiving targets for the future.
While the coaching staff may have done the bulk of the work getting Greene and his family to refocus on what the future of the Tar Heels program looks like, a lot of credit has to go to their current commits. They are the ones that really helped bring in Greene in the stretch run of his recruitment. The "Virginia to North Carolina" movement with George Pettaway, Zach Rice, Tychaun Chapman, and others went a long way in Greene's recruitment.