Carolina Checked All Of Beatty's Boxes
There’s a laundry list of reasons why Aaron Beatty decided to play football and go to college at North Carolina. Many, many reasons.
Beatty announced Sunday evening he was going to be a Tar Heel after taking his official visit to UNC over the weekend. The 3-star, 6-foot-5 and 255-pound standout from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, PA, could have gone to a lot of other schools. He has 33 offers, including from West Virginia, South Carolina, N.C. State, Boston College and Pittsburgh.
But UNC won out because it basically checked all of his boxes.
“I decided to commit to UNC because of the education, facilities and staff,” Beatty told THI on Monday afternoon. “I really liked how they ran things as a whole, and I just saw myself playing there.”
UNC Coach Mack Brown was a factor.
“Coach Brown is a great coach and even a better person,” Beatty said. “He really cares for everyone that’s on the team and works for him. Playing for a coach that’s already in the Hall of Fame is unbelievable – never thought I would have the chance to play for one of the greatest coaches ever.”
Defensive line coach Tim Cross as key in this process, too.
“Coach Cross is also a great person and coach,” Beatty said. “I love the way he runs things, and how he treats his players like family. He really loves the game of football, and I’m looking forward to playing for someone that’s so passionate about the game.”
One box prospects don’t often mention is the importance of weather. But Beatty hit on that, too.
“I’m a big fan of the South because I don’t like cold weather,” he said, “so that definitely played a role in it.”
So, Beatty was on his official visit this weekend and ended up committing. Did he enter the weekend with that in mind, or when did he realize UNC was the place for him?
“I knew it was one of my top schools,” Beatty replied. “I just needed my mom to see it. After she saw it and I heard back from her of how much she liked it I knew it was the one.”
Beatty says UNC has recruited him to play defensive end, which is where he plays in high school. But there’s an emphasis on him doing something the program the program needs and all winning teams do that have high expectations.
“They want me to stop the run as well,” Beatty said.
Beatty, who is the 15th member of the class of 2020 to commit to the Tar Heels, says he plans on helping the staff recruit the rest of the class. He won’t, however, be at Showtime this weekend because he will be in Italy.