Five recruiting mistakes that helped derail Mack Brown’s tenure at North Carolina

Mack Brown was fired as North Carolina coach Tuesday morning. The Hall of Fame head coach, who is finishing his second term at the helm of the Tar Heels, has won 58 percent of his games since returning to Chapel Hill before the 2019 season.

North Carolina State is full of top college football prospects year after year. Brown’s staff signed some, but clearly not enough. Here’s a look at five prospects that are dooming Mack Brown’s program.

If the Tar Heels were looking for an explosive threat, they didn’t have to look far to find Concepcion. The former four-star from Charlotte ultimately chose rival NC State over North Carolina and has developed into one of the most dynamic playmakers in the ACC. As a freshman in the 2023 season, Concepcion recorded 845 receiving yards on 72 catches and caught 10 touchdown passes. That’s more than any Tar Heel receiver in any category.

The Carolinas are known for producing elite defensive line talent, and Evans seemed to be next. The top 100 prospect in the state wanted to stay close to home for his studies and, along with South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Florida, showed the most interest in the Tar Heels. Keeping him from leaving the state was important for North Carolina, but he didn’t live up to his potential. Evans is in his fifth and final season of eligibility and has not made the impact coaches and NFL scouts were hoping for.

Adding Greene to the 2022 class was a huge win for North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Clemson for his commitment and the team expected him to arrive on campus and immediately make a difference on the outside. That ultimately wasn’t the case. In two seasons at North Carolina, Greene was targeted just nine times. He transferred to Virginia after the 2023 season but still hasn’t lived up to the initial hype.

To put it simply, there may have been no bigger bust than Rice during Brown’s entire time in office. Rice is the only five-star offensive lineman to ever sign with the Tar Heels and has played a total of 44 snaps in three years. During his college career, there were more arrests (one) than new starts (zero).

Shaw is the second-highest prospect North Carolina has ever signed, but his impact during his time in Chapel Hill was minimal. He is credited with 50 tackles, four and a half tackles for a loss, four pass deflections and zero sacks during his college career. In addition to this lack of production, Shaw was previously arrested and charged in connection with a fatal alcohol-related car accident earlier this year.

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