Fact Or Fiction: Travis Shaw Will Pick North Carolina?

North Carolina is very much in the thick of things with 5-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw, who attends Grimsley High School in Greensboro, NC. So much so that some recruiting analysts from various networks have recently pegged the Tar Heels as the leader to land Shaw.

Shaw completed his official visit to UNC this past weekend, and if posts on social media are any indication, he had an outstanding time. The 6-foot-6, 325-pounder, who is ranked the No. 3 overall player nationally in the class of 2022, has also visited Clemson and Georgia in June, and was at UNC on an unofficial visit earlier in the month.

Initially, Shaw indicated to THI just before beginning his string of visits he had no idea how long this process would play out, perhaps even hinting he might not make a decision until December. Shaw tuned out the media during the spring football season, applying all of his focus toward leading Grimsley to the state championship, which he accomplished.

So, if Shaw doesn’t commit over the next six weeks or so, he could play this out until his senior season ends.

“This process is more than a one-step thing, this process is a journey,” Shaw told THI. “So, at the end of the day, every athlete, every parent don’t want to see their child make the wrong decision, so if I can hold it as long as I can to make the best decision possible for me and my family, it’s just a chess game where you move and piece and then move a piece.

“You just take it a slow as possible and slow going as you can. With recruiting you never know, you might go on a visit tomorrow and you might just get happy and want the recruitment over like some of these other athletes are doing. You never know.”

There have been some signs, however, an announcement may indeed come before Grimsley begins preseason practice in a month. Some recruiting analysts have switched their predictions, including some pointing toward UNC.

Shaw has plenty of reasons to choose Mack Brown’s program aside from just distance. But that could certainly be a factor for him.

“Carolina is in your backyard, the home school,” Shaw said. “So it’s real special, especially with some of the other names that came out of North Carolina.”

So, as the debate builds regarding where Shaw will go, and the other school in top four is North Carolina A&T, Rivals’ national analysts Adam Gorney and Adam Friedman were asked a simple Fact or Fiction question: After visiting North Carolina over the weekend, the Tar Heels lead for Travis Shaw.

FICTION. I’ll believe it when I see it. North Carolina is doing a fantastic job recruiting Travis Shaw and the Tar Heels are very much right at the top with Clemson for Shaw’s services but to say they lead, I’m not sure about that just yet. Especially if Shaw waits to make his decision until later in the recruiting process, Clemson still has a lot of time to seemingly make up some ground and Georgia cannot be counted out yet either. If North Carolina lands the five-star defensive lineman, I wouldn’t be shocked. But I’ll never count Clemson out especially for a local prospect and one who has been so interested in the Tigers before.

FACT. Longtime favorite Clemson seems to have lost momentum in the days since Shaw's visit for the "Elite Retreat" three weekends ago. Georgia and North Carolina have hosted him on consecutive weekends since his trip to Clemson and both trips have really impressed Shaw and his family. At this point, the sheer number of times Shaw has been to Chapel Hill combined with the momentum the Tar Heels have picked up from his time on campus this weekend points to North Carolina leading at the moment. There is no set decision timeline but since naming his top four earlier this month, Shaw’s recruitment has sped up dramatically. A commitment could come at any time but he isn't afraid to wait to make sure he is picking the right school.

Note that Rivals ran a Fact Or Fiction piece on three prospects Tuesday morning, including Zach Rice and Notre Dame.