Charleston French didn’t get a great deal of recruiting attention coming out of high school, but that never slowed his motivation to play major college football.

French believed in himself. He knew his game could translate at the next level. He just needed an opportunity to show schools, which meant getting eyes on him, which wasn’t easy in Amory, MS, a town of 6,666, which is down more than 700 from the 2010 census.

So French, who is 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, enrolled in Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS, looking to create opportunities for himself. It worked.

A running back, French ran the ball 180 times last fall for 924 yards (5.1 average), scoring eight touchdowns. He fumbled twice, losing one. He averaged 102.7 yards in nine games played in his only season at Itawamba. In addition, French caught eight passes for 46 yards with no scores.

A class of 2023 prospect in high school, French took an official visit to UNC this past weekend, and decided to become a Tar Heel while on campus. In fact, he moved in Sunday.

THI spoke with French about the process of becoming a Tar Heel and why he chose UNC. Here is that interview: