If THI was doing a series on the best players from Japan or Korea, Jack Tabb would probably make the cut with relative ease. His mother was in the Army, so Tabb, who was born in Japan, also lived in South Korea, Tennessee and Indiana before spending his last two years of high school in New Jersey.
Tabb was recruited to UNC while he attended Red Bank Catholic in Red Bank, NJ, but his representation in this series is because of some formative years he spent as a child in Hawaii, where he lived for four years while his mother was stationed there.
For Tabb, though, that’s also where he was bitten by the football bug.
“It was a great environment at Saint Louis Boys school,” he said. “Most of the time at recess we played tackle football without pads. No one ever complained no one ever folded. It was also one of the first times I wasn't the biggest kid in the yard so as you can imagine I learned a few hard lessons.”
He later used the grit he grew to embrace on the field at Kenan Stadium and spots around the ACC.
Mainly a tight end, Tabb played in 41 games as a Tar Heel hauling in 47 receptions for 534 yards and five touchdowns. His best season came as a senior when he caught 26 passes for 257 yards and three scores. Eric Ebron was generating headlines at UNC while Tabb was improving his craft but also finding every way he could to help the Tar Heels on the field.
“I didn't feel I was playing behind E until our junior season when I was playing tight end and linebacker,” Tabb said. “We came in together in the same class in 2011 and I knew he was a special player. I wanted to be the best tight end duo in college history.
“The best thing we did was compete on a daily basis. In the weight room, Conditioning, and practice. We fed off of each other. The biggest thing I appreciated about Ebron was the energy he brought every day. He never let anything keep him down which was contagious.”
Of course, Ebron was more than just a terrific ACC player.
“I also knew I was pretty good since he went No. 10 overall,” so I just had to trust my process and just be the best Jack Tabb I can be,” Tabb said.
As for the linebacker part, Tabb was so versatile that when the Tar Heels were in a pinch, the staff asked Tabb to go both ways for a few games, which he obliged.
In 2013, he started at the Mike linebacker spot registering a couple of tackles in a 27-17 Tar Heels loss in Blacksburg. He registered 11 tackles that season.
“I was honored the coaches gave me the opportunity to do so. I always played both ways growing up, so it was natural,” he said. “I wanted to help the team and make plays wherever I could. I wish I would have gotten to do more on that side of the ball. Sometimes I think I should have just stayed over there.”
Tabb played one season with the New Orleans Saints in 2015 and currently coaches the offensive line for former UNC offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who is the head coach at North Texas.
Though Tabb hasn’t been gone from Chapel Hill for too long, he views his time there with tremendous fondness.
“It started off difficult with all the sanctions, but I wouldn't trade it for anything,” he said. “I got to play both sides of the ball, be a part of one of the best offenses in college football and form relationships that are invaluable.
“I'm also a big basketball guy so getting to kick it and watch them was awesome as well. I'd relish the opportunity to come back and coach eventually.”
