Travis Shaw: North Carolina lands 'unique' DL in 4-star

It came down to Clemson, Georgia and North Carolina for Travis Shaw, one of the top defensive linemen in the country. At different times, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound four-star may have been leaning in different directions, but his heart led him to stay home with the Tar Heels.

Mack Brown really has the program in Chapel Hill heading in the right direction and Shaw decided he wanted to be a part of it.

Last season, which was played earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaw helped Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley win a state championship.

Shaw was a force in the middle and head coach Darryl Brown knows Brown is getting a good one at North Carolina. He saw this early on, and the best way he can describe the new Tar Heel is “unique”.

Coach knew Travis Shaw was special in middle school

You cannot teach size. When Brown got to Grimsley, he took a look around the middle school and saw this 6-4, 280-pound seventh-grader shooting basketball.

Shaw – who is ranked as the No. 43 player in the On300 – did not play football for the middle school. He played Pop Warner football, but Shaw saw enough on the basketball court to let him know he had a good one on the way to Grimsley.

“When I walked into the gym, Travis was at the top of the key dribbling the basketball,” Brown said. “I saw him dribble, move, make a no-look pass, and I knew then he was special.

“I watched him play basketball for a few minutes, and I was like, ‘Who in the world is this?’ He was different then, and he has only gotten better.”

The size is there for sure, but the athleticism is what sets Travis Shaw apart.

“Travis a great athlete,” Brown said. “He moves so well at his size. To see what he can do on the football field and basketball court is not normal.

“I saw him play football in eighth grade and he threw the ball 65-yards. I knew right away that he was very skilled and he has only gotten better. His size, hand-eye coordination and athleticism are not common for guys with his height and weight.”

Shaw handled recruiting process best he could

That early size and athleticism Brown saw five years ago, combined with the hard work Travis Shaw has put in led to him being one of the top-ranked defensive linemen in the 2022 class.

He has a long list of offers before trimming it down to a manageable number this summer.

Shaw missed out on the normal junior year of recruiting because of COVID-19, so he had to cram a lot in this summer.

He handled it all like a pro.

“I don’t think he could have handled it any better,” Brown said. “He had to deal with a lot, and I think he did the best he could. He has to deal with a lot of text messages, phone calls and coaches wanting his time. It is a lot for any kid, and Travis did a great job with it all.”

Media was around as much as it could be, coaches always wanted Shaw’s time, and he was being pulled in a lot of different directions.

It did not phase him.

“Travis would deflect the attention as much as he could,” Brown said. “He got more comfortable with it along the way, but he was a team-first guy all the way through.

“Everything was about the team for him, so that is what he kept his focus on. He did a great job of keeping things in their place and handling the recruiting part when he had to. Overall, he did a great job with it all.”

How did North Carolina land Shaw?

One thing Travis Shaw made pretty clear right away was that he did not want to go far from home. He had national offers, but he wanted to stay close to home, and that played into North Carolina’s favor.

“Location and proximity were important to Travis and his family,” Brown said. “I am not sure how much it factored in, in the end, but it is close to home.

“His family will be able to be there, he knows people that go to school there, and I know it only helped North Carolina.”

What Mack Brown is doing made an impact, too.

“I think we all see North Carolina is a team on the rise under coach Brown,” Shaw’s coach said. “He is putting things back together there and Travis recognized that. Coach Brown is a great coach with great coaches around him. They are starting off in the top 10 this season and that is big.”

Coach Lonnie Galloway was the area recruiter and Tim Cross was the position coach heavily involved.

“North Carolina recruited Travis very well,” coach Darryl Brown said. “They are great guys, and I know Travis built strong relationships with them.”

No ceiling for new North Carolina commit Travis Shaw

From one Brown to another. Coach Darryl Brown at Grimsley has coached Travis Shaw the last three years and he will pass him on to coach Mack Brown in Chapel Hill after this season.

One word kept coming up as his high school coach described the future Tar Heel.

“Unique is what I think of when I think of Travis,” Brown said. “He is a special talent, but I have seen him grow into a leader, be able to handle the way kids look up to him and he is very unique.”

He is still just 17 years old. Shaw turned 17 last month, so he will start college at 17 years old and the upside is scary for the future Tar Heel.

“Of course with his size, he is a big run stopper, but there is so much more to him,” Brown said. “He is a very intelligent player who plays with great awareness. He really reminds me of a linebacker the way he plays. He has such a great feel for the game.

“Then you think about what he does at his age, and it is hard to believe. He could still very well be a junior in high school. He is so strong, he is so athletic, he is so smart and the sky is the limit.

“His ceiling is very high. Travis can be as good as he wants to be.”