CHAPEL HILL – With 21 true freshmen having enrolled early this semester at North Carolina, the program has decided to make each of them available to the media to learn more about them and allow fans to get some insight into the newest Tar Heels.
Eight of the newcomers were available last Wednesday at the Kenan Football Center, and eight more will be available next week. Five of the freshmen met with the media in December, as they arrived early enough to practice some with the Tar Heels during bowl prep.
So, here is an interview with wide receiver Javarius “Vari” Green:
UNC’s bio on Green:
Vari Green
5-foot-11, 195 pounds
Crest High School / Shelby, NC
An early enrollee who is a three-star prospect ranked as the nation’s 58th-best wide receiver by On3 and the No. 14 player in North Carolina by 247Sports • A U.S. Army All-American Bowl invitee • A Shrine Bowl participant • An all-state and all-conference performer • Tallied 160 catches for 3,167 yards and 40 TDs • Finished his career with 4,543 all-purpose yards and 49 total TDs • Posted 61 catches for 1,276 yards and 17 TDs to go with 1,914 all-purpose yards and 21 total TDs as a senior • Named to the all-Big South 3A team • Notched 61 catches for 1,344 yards and 18 TDs, while amassing 1,987 all-purpose yards and 21 total TDs as a junior • Caught 30 passes for 350 yards and three TDs as a sophomore • Had eight catches for 197 yards and two TDs as a freshman in a Covid shortened season • Also played baseball, earning all-conference honors • A member of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club.
Personal: Son of Dena and Willie Green • Father, Willie, played nine seasons in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos • Birthday is Dec. 20.
*Green said the coaching staff has gone slow enough to allow the newcomers to get comfortable, but at the same time, this is college, so many things are different and have required a lot of adjusting.
“It’s been good getting along, everything has been smooth,” he said.
*So, when was Green’s oh-wow-I’m-playing-college-football was?
“I’d say the first moment probably came in the second and third week. Probably just the kind of (when) conditioning kicked in. Those 100s, they’ll get you, man.”
*Green said he “ate when I ate” before arriving to UNC, and now he must eat three meals a day certain times. That has actually required some adjusting on his part. He spends a lot of time talking with the team’s nutritionists.
*His father played in the NFL, but never pushed football on Vari. In fact, Vari loves baseball and always played that, and didn’t start playing football until eighth grade.
“He kind of just let me go on my own path, and then one day I decided to pick up the football, and he just kind of took it from there. So, we spent late nights just talking about stuff after games, practices. He mentored me through all of that.”
*Green came in early along with receivers Alex Taylor and Jodan Shipp, and he says it’s “been great” with there, noting they knew each other fairly well before arriving at UNC. He never played against them in high school (all are in-state players), and Green didn’t play with or against them in the spring and summer because he was always playing travel baseball.
