From D3 to the ACC and UNC, Greenberg Discusses his Path

*Note: Video of Zach Greenberg video is above, and a partial transcript is below.

CHAPEL HILL – Playing football in the ACC wasn’t much on Zach Greenberg’s radar when he first arrived at Muhlenberg College.

He was 240 pounds as an offensive linemen, the program is Division III, and Scotty Wood Stadium, home of the Mules, seated a capacity of only 3,000 fans.

It was about as far away from North Carolina and Kenan Stadium as one could get. But that never deterred Greenberg. Coming from a large family, he knew he’d grow more, so he went to work putting on pounds and refining his blocking skills while also putting in the IQ time.

So, when everything came together last spring, and he turned in an all-conference season, he started wondering what opportunities were out there. With two years of eligibility remaining, the time was right to find out, so Greenberg entered the transfer portal. And several days after visiting UNC, which included watching the basketball Tar Heels clobber Syracuse, the New Jersey native committed to Mack Brown’s program.

Now at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Greenberg is six weeks into his time at UNC and is getting ready for the season, which starts soon with fall camp kicking off July 29.

Greenberg started 13 games at left tackle as a freshman in 2021, then missed most of the 2022 campaign because of an injury. This past fall, Greenberg was second-team All-Region in helping the Mules to a sixth consecutive final national ranking and postseason victory.

Here is Greenberg’s Muhlenberg Bio

Note: It does not include anything from this past season.

Honors

• Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, 2022

• All-Region 2 second team, 2023; third team, 2021

• All-Centennial Conference first team, 2021 and 2023

2022

• Started first three games at left tackle until injury sidelined him for season

2021

• Was the rock of the offensive line in his first collegiate season

• Named the Mules’ offensive rookie of the year

• Started at 13 games at left tackle

• Only Mule offensive lineman to start every game

• First Muhlenberg offensive lineman to earn first-team All-CC honors as a sophomore since 2014

• Allowed only three sacks (two to the regional defensive player of the year)

Here is some of what Greenberg said Monday:

Q: How does a guy go from Muhlenberg to the ACC?

GREENBERG: “That’s a great question. A lot of hard work. I feel like Division III can be undersold sometimes. There’s a lot of really good players that just weren’t big enough coming out of high school or didn’t have that exposure, which happens to be what (it was when) I was coming out of high school.

“I was barely 6-foot, barely 240 (pounds). So, I feel like there are a lot of guys who are great football players that don’t have the opportunity just yet to play that kind of football. But it’s serious football. Muhlenberg’s a top-tier program, they’ve proven that for five or six years. Great head coach now and the coach before that built that culture. They’re just guys that can play football.”

Q: At what point did you believe you had what it took to come to this level and make that massive jump?

GREENBERG: “I don’t know if there was necessarily a point. I have two years of eligibility; one from Covid and one from when I got hurt. And I was looking to explore graduate school also. So, I was just testing the waters to see what opportunities were out there.

“I was really fortunate to have a good senior year and compile some good film. So I think from there, I was seeing what was available.”

Q: Was one of the main selling points about coming here that there would be a lot of competition along the offensive line since UNC lost so much?

GREENBERG: “Maybe a little bit, but the biggest thing I was looking for in the portal was an elite team culture, which is something Carolina’s overflowing with. It also was a good brotherhood, which was really high on my list that I must have.

“And when I visited Carolina first, that’s something that I felt right away, so that really checked a lot of boxes. I think those were the two important things I was really looking for.”

Q: When did the growth spurt occur?

GREENBERG: “Maybe 6-1, 250 (laughing). I was kind of expecting it for a while. My brother’s 6-4, my dad’s 6-4, my uncle’s 6-5. So, my family is really big. I was just waiting for that. It took until the middle of college I was still growing. I came back my junior and sophomore years still growing.”

Q: Did you question whether it would ever happen?

GREENBERG: “Oh yeah, definitely. It took a while. I was still adding weight until my senior year; I was still trying to pack on some pounds.”

Q: Are you at your ideal weight right now?

GREENBERG: “No sir, not yet. I’m 305 right now, but I’m still increasing. (UNC nutritionist) Amber’s Rinestine-Ressa great, (team nutritionist) Issy’s (Chung) great. So, I’m still increasing weight as we move closer to camp.”

Q: What is your goal weight?

GREENBERG: “315.”

Q: You haven’t had a chance to hit yet, you’ll get that in a few weeks. What do you think the biggest transition for you will be on the field?

GREENBERG: “I think just getting acclimated. Regardless of where you are, there’s kind of an adjustment to the speed of play. So, I think that will be the biggest thing. But I think knowing the playbook… The older guys have helped a lot. So, I think getting that down first will make everything else a lot easier.”

Q: What position do you think you’re going to play, and what expectations do you have for playing time?

GREENBERG: “Center and guard. And my expectations, I’m really excited to compete. There’s a lot of great guys in the offensive line room who deserves time… I’m excited to have an opportunity wherever that might be.”

Q: Was there an awe factor or a cool factor that when you got here and looked around you thought, ‘damn, I’m here.’?

GREENBERG: “Yeah, definitely. But I feel like it’s just getting ready for the grind. It’s really cool to see you got to get ready (and) there’s not that much time between first arrival and camp, so you’ve got to get after it.”

Q: What were the reactions of friends and family when they learned you were coming here?

GREENBERG: “They were excited. It’s definitely like seeing all your work lead to that, they’re really excited. More excited for the opportunities that can present themselves in the future.

Q: Your buddies are going to get to see you on TV now, right?

GREENBERG: “Yeah, I guess so.”