Mack Brown reveals how far UNC has come on the recruiting trail

North Carolina football coach Mack Brown has a lot of be happy with when it comes to his 2022 recruiting class. The Tar Heels class not only ranks first in the ACC, but also 10th in the country according to On3’s Team Rankings.

That is the highest ranking since Brown took over in 2019, as UNC has climbed the list each year. In a recent press conference, the coach explained how he has found so much success on the recruiting trail.

“The difference in Year 1 to Year 3 is that people know who we are,” Brown said. “We’ve had three years to show that we can be good and can play with anybody. We exceeded those expectations in the first and second year but we fell short last year. Everybody in this building knows we should have been better last year and we weren’t. So recruits hear that. They feel that and they want to be part of something good. We’ve got a huge facility plan moving forward over the next couple of years. Kids want to be part of that. We didn’t have that when we first got here. I think because we have a track record and most of our coaches have stayed, they feel like we’ve got stability and they like the players on our team. …So the biggest thing right now is everybody knows who we are.”

After finishing 7-6 in Brown’s inaugural season, the Tar Heels went 8-4 in 2020 and made an appearance in the Orange Bowl. This past year however, they suffered their first losing season of his tenure with a 6-7 record. He is hopeful some of the new recruits such as defensive lineman Travis Shaw — the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina — can help the team bounce back in 2022.

Mack Brown credited his recruiting success to a number of factors ranging from academics to low turnover on the coaching staff. When all of those are combined, it makes it difficult for recruits to turn down a chance to play in Chapel Hill.

“Everything is in place,” Brown said. “The academics are in place having a 1,000 on the APR when 1,000 is all you can get. There’s only four universities in the country that have it. It sends a great message to parents when they’re coming in that their son will get his degree if he comes here. Secondly, we’ve gotten really good recruiting classes back to back and we’ve got very good players. So they know they’re gonna have to compete, but they also know they’ve got a chance to win. Thirdly, a real consistent coaching staff without a whole lot of turnover. They know we’re hiring really good coaches so that when somebody does leave, they fell like their staff is gonna be here. And they know I’m not going anywhere.”

This is Brown’s second tenure at North Carolina after he led the Tar Heels to three 10-win seasons from 1988-97 before taking over as coach at Texas. Following a 16-year stint with the Longhorns that included a national title in 2005, he is looking to once again find success at UNC.

The Tar Heels open the 2022 season on Aug. 27 against Florida A&M.