Travis Shaw’s public recruiting face was that of a guarded young man focused on making one of the most important decisions in his life.
When talking with media, be it through text messages, on the phone, or even in person with a camera running, Shaw was always low key, didn’t show much of his hand, and left the media wondering after each time they interacted with him.
But that has changed.
Shaw, the No. 3 player nationally in the class of 2022, announced last Saturday he will play football at North Carolina, and doing so essentially removed a face from before him, unleashing a gregarious young man now fully intent on being one of UNC’s lead recruiters.
“I told coach Mack Brown the (July) 31st, and the moment I told him he started crying,” Shaw said moments after revealing his decision to become a Tar Heel. “So just that alone, that set it apart, too. When I told him I was staying home and I believed in him, he started crying and he was like he can’t wait for me to get back on campus; can’t wait to get that ball rolling.”
Ball rolling indeed.
Shaw has been prolific on Twitter going after the remaining targets on Carolina’s 2022 radar. Mack Brown and his staff have a very small net still cast, so Shaw has zeroed in on those kids to bring them to Chapel Hill.
Naturally, the first target Shaw set his sights on was Zach Rice, a fellow 5-star prospect who is from Lynchburg, VA, and has been to UNC several times. In fact, Shaw told THI that Rice would be the first player he was going to call.
Rice, the No. 19 prospect nationally in the class of 2022, and Shaw even played together in an all-star event when they were in middle school, plus they have gotten to know each other some over the last year.
Andre Greene is a 4-star (borderline 5-star) wide receiver from Richmond, Va. He is the No. 36 overall prospect nationally in the class of 2022, and Shaw has made it known he would like for the 6-foot-3, fleet-footed athlete to also play for the Tar Heels.
George Pettaway is a 4-star running back from the 757 in Virginia and has been a major target of the Tar Heels for more than a year. At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, the native of Suffolk, VA, is the No. 101 overall prospect nationally in the class of 2022, and Shaw would love to have him join 4-star Omarion Hampton in Carolina running backs room next year.
Shaw even had some help from the hoops Heels, when Virginia native Armando Bacot was feeding off of his tweets the other day. Bacot, the Tar Heels’ leading scorer and rebounder last season, got into the act as well, prompting a reaction from Shaw.
Shaw feels it for UNC. This was a football decision for him but also something much more. Take him at his word.
“It was the unconditional love,” Shaw said. “Every time I stepped on campus, no matter what, it was love. When I got hurt, every school knew I got hurt, but they were the only ones to check up on me the day of surgery. That right there just set them apart. Basically, the love that they showed never changed up since day one since eighth grade.”
Deana’s Take
For over a year, Shaw has been guarded on what he has told various coaches, media, and fans on the recruiting front. In talking to him on several occasions, he was always focused mainly on his team goals at Grimsley High School in which he accomplished in help leading them to a state title this spring. On Saturday, it was Shaw’s day, and I saw firsthand a kid that appears so happy to finally let his true feelings out on where he wanted to spend the next three to four years of college.
He has now gone from being modest to a full-blown recruiter for the Tar Heels on social media. He said he was "a dog" and wanted to play with other dogs. After his commitment on August 21, the alpha dog of the Tar Heels’ class of 2022 has been released.
