Commitment breakdown: UNC keeps 5-star Travis Shaw home
North Carolina has pulled off the biggest win of the Mack Brown era. The Tar Heels have landed a commitment from five-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw. The Grimsley, N.C. star has taken multiple visits to North Carolina, Clemson, and Georgia in the last few months but the Tar Heels made him and his family feel more comfortable than the rest.
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WHAT THE TAR HEELS ARE GETTING...
Shaw is a special defensive prospect that play all over the defensive line. He has outstanding athleticism for a player that's 6-foot-6 and well over 300-pounds. He is strong at the point of attack, has the hand techniques to effectively shed blockers, and a great motor that allows him to make tackles towards the sidelines and down the field. As a pass rusher, Shaw can overpower most offensive linemen and collapse the pocket but when he's not double teamed Shaw makes quick work of the lineman in front of him while on his way to the quarterback. A comparison that has often been made for Shaw is a more raw and slightly more athletic prospect than Dexter Lawrence was in the 2016 class.
WHY IT'S BIG FOR NORTH CAROLINA...
This is a potentially program-changing commitment North Carolina has landed. Adding Shaw to what was already going to be a very young and very talented defensive unit is exactly what Mack Brown and his staff have wanted. Shaw was their top rated prospect, regardless of position, and the entire coaching staff and even the current players and recruits gave it their all to try to convince Shaw to stay home and play for the Tar Heels.
Aside from what Shaw can do on the field, Shaw's commitment is the exactly what North Carolina, a team on cusp of making waves nationally, needs to get over the hump. If he develops as planned, Shaw could help make North Carolina's defense one of the best in the nation.
This recruiting battle was about as big as North Carolina has experienced in recent memory. Shaw's connections to Clemson have been well-documented and they looked like the favorite for the large majority of his recruitment. Georgia made a huge impression on Shaw early in his recruitment when Kirby Smart took a helicopter to see him when he was a freshman. Shaw is also very close with current Georgia commit Jalon Walker. In the end, the friendships and connections Shaw and his family have at North Carolina proved strong enough to keep him from leaving the state.