4-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw commits to North Carolina

Top-50 prospect Travis Shaw has committed to North Carolina as the Tar Heels score a head-to-head recruiting win against Clemson.

This recruiting rivalry continues to grow.

The Greensboro (N.C.) native announced on Saturday that he will stay home and make the 50-mile trek to Chapel Hill to play in the ACC Coastal Division. Travis Shaw is ranked No. 43 overall in the class of 2022 by On3 Recruits. The high four-star picked North Carolina over finalists Clemson, Georgia, and North Carolina A&T. The defensive tackle becomes the third top-100 prospect to join the 2022 class for the Tar Heels after he visited the UNC campus three times since April, with an official visit occurring the last weekend in June. North Carolina had five top-100 signees in the class of 2021.

Clemson recruiting outlook

The Tigers are in great shape in the class of 2022. Clemson currently has 12 verbal commitments in the haul with five-star cornerback Daylen Everette and top-50 quarterback Cade Klubnik leading the way. Clemson has landed commitments from three players at IMG (Fla.) Academy to go along with players in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Clemson has three in-state commitments, and this would be the program’s most since the class of 2019. However, Dabo Swinney’s program has yet to score a recruiting win in the state of North Carolina. This has been a fertile recruiting area for the program.

The Tar Heel State has long been a pipeline for the Tigers. Clemson landed five-star linebacker Trenton Simpson out of Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek High and Will Shipley was a top-50 recruiting win from Weddington (N.C.) High. The Tigers also landed defensive tackle Payton Page out of Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High. The state produces a solid amount of good prep football talent. However, Brown and North Carolina are making things more difficult. This is becoming the top recruiting rivalry in the ACC.

On the defensive line, Clemson currently has 17 scholarship players on the roster with a ton of depth at defensive tackle. If junior Tyler Davis does not leave early for the NFL, every player at defensive tackle should return in 2022. This is not a position of need for the program, but Clemson could still make plays for blue-chippers Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and Shemar Stewart. On the edge, Caden Curry and DJ Wesolak may still be options.

Recruiting never stops. Clemson and North Carolina will eventually meet again in another head-to-head battle for a blue-chip prospect.