UNC has landed their final target of the 2022 class, and it’s about as big a commitment as any in a class with multiple blue-chip prospects: Four-star wide receiver Andre Greene, Jr. chose the Heels over Clemson and Georgia on Wednesday night. Greene might not have the pedigree of Zach Rice or Travis Shaw, but he is more likely to play right away, being a receiver rather than a lineman who needs time to develop their body into college-readiness, and that’s not nothing. More on Greene, and the rest of the UNC recruiting world, below:

Football:

• The 6’3, 185-pound Greene had already announced a commitment date a few weeks ago, but made things sweaty for Tar Heel fans after scheduling and attending an official visit at Clemson the weekend beforehand, which looked like it might be a visit where he silently committed to the coaches in person. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened, and now the Richmond native has committed to wear Tar Heel Blue next fall. Greene’s height and athleticism make him a different kind of receiver than we’ve seen in Chapel Hill over the past several seasons; he’s simultaneously a jump-ball threat because of his height and body control as well as somebody who can separate at all three levels with speed and violent route running. Especially with the instability at UNC’s receiver spots outside of Josh Downs this season, I think it will be hard to keep Greene off the field next year.
• This commitment brings UNC’s class to 16 players, and it’s probably more or less done there — there isn’t any news about other ‘22 players they’re pursuing this close to the December signing date. That’s well below the allotted 25, but with last year’s eligibility freeze and strong underclassman depth already, that’s not much to worry about. And while the quantity in this class is relatively low, the quality is pretty bonkers: with two five-star prospects and 9 four-stars, UNC’s class currently ranks #9 in the country and will almost certainly be a top-15 class after everything shakes out — with fewer players than nearly every team ahead of it.
• Apparently, somebody started a rumor in coaching circles that Mack Brown is preparing to retire, which got reproduced in this Sports Illustrated article. This new version of SI hasn’t exactly been the industry standard, so it was easy for most readers to shrug it off as something just put there for shock value, but apparently the rumor had enough traction on the internal side of college football for Mack to publicly shut it down, per Andy Staples at The Athletic. “I was told by a friend of mine that a prominent agent has been telling people that I’m not going to be here next year in hopes that would affect recruiting because we’re recruiting so well,” says Mack, adding that he hasn’t “even thought about” retirement this season (the article is behind a paywall). There’s not much more to say, but I figure that warrants a mention here.

Basketball:

• Basketball’s signing day has passed, meaning Hubert Davis’ 2022 class is officially complete with Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington, Tyler Nickel, and Will Shaver. That class ranks 9th in the country, which is impressive given Davis’ almost complete pivot away from the the players Roy Williams had been prioritizing before his retirement and the late start he got on this cycle as a result. These rankings aren’t stable, because the high school basketball season hasn’t started yet, and Trimble and Nickel are both in the middle of pretty big increases in their rankings after impressive AAU performances — capitalizing on that with markedly improved high school seasons could catapult them further, with Trimble in particular flirting with five-star status. Washington and Shaver won’t play their senior seasons, though; Washington will be rehabbing after a surgery to fix his initial, slightly botched ACL surgery, and Shaver has decided to enroll early to UNC starting next semester, taking the last available scholarship and redshirting.
• Predictably, not much has happened with the 2023 class since the season started, with Hubert Davis focusing on beginning his coaching career on the right note on the court. With the 2022 class signed, though, I’ll now start putting the table for the class of 2023’s offered prospects under this section, and you’ll notice how aspirational it is compared to the ‘22 class: The lowest-ranked player Davis has offered is ranked 25th in the country. Of those, he’s already gotten a commitment from 14th-ranked combo guard Simeon Wilcher and is getting positive buzz for 10th-ranked power forward G.G. Jackson.