These days, Travis Shaw likes to walk around topless.
UNC’s junior defensive lineman, in the midst of the strongest run of play of his collegiate career, is bursting with confidence. It’s the confidence that comes with playing well, but also from a comprehensive weight-loss plan which saw him drop 40 pounds this calendar year. Shaw is now “down” to 330, and teammate Des Evans said the results have been stunning.
“The weight loss is crazy, man,” Evans said earlier this year. Y’all know Trav’s kind of big. So I’ll be joking with him like, ‘Bro, your back looks kind of skinny, man. I’m not gonna lie. Your back is skinny.’ He’s like, ‘For real?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. You look skinny, bro.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna walk around with my shirt off.’”
It was hard to miss Shaw (fully clothed) last Saturday night against Wake Forest, when he finished with four tackles, a deflected pass and a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Head coach Mack Brown and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins hailed it as the best game of Shaw’s time in Chapel Hill.
Tar Heel fans have been eager to see this version of Shaw – the game-wrecking, fist-pumping colossus – since he committed to Carolina in 2021. Back then, Shaw was a five-star prospect out of Greensboro’s Grimsley High School and one of the highest-graded recruits ever to join UNC’s program. He seemed destined for bigger things.
But during a difficult first two seasons, an out-of-shape Shaw had trouble staying on the field. As his weight crept closer to 400 pounds than 300, his knees began to act up. UNC’s seemingly annual inability to stop the run did nothing to bolster his image. Nor did charges for underage drinking and unauthorized possession of marijuana brought about by North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement in an investigation this past winter. The program told Chapelboro it disciplined Shaw and the other players involved internally.
Then, Carolina shook up its defensive coaching staff. After the end of the 2023 season, Collins replaced Gene Chizik, while former analyst Ted Monachino replaced the outgoing Tim Cross as defensive line coach. And while some of Shaw’s resurgence can be attributed to these changes, Monachino said the junior’s comeback story has been a group effort.
“Amber [Rinestine-Ressa, UNC’s director of nutrition] up there in the cafeteria has done an amazing job keeping her thumb right on top of him,” Monachino said. “His goals have become her goals. And when that happens, and everybody’s pulling the rope in the same direction, you’ve got a chance. And everybody is pulling the Travis Shaw rope in the same direction.”
Shaw’s physical improvement has been matched by a mental one, with multiple coaches and players lauding his maturity this fall. Collins couldn’t be happier with the payoff.
“He’s become ridiculously coachable,” Collins said. “It’s just a fun development to see all the work, all the maturity show up on gamedays. And he was must-see TV on Saturday night.”
Shaw’s lightning-quick spin move to get around a Wake Forest lineman and record a tackle for loss on Saturday was practically made for SportsCenter. It’s what UNC coaches call a “flash play:” just a glimpse into what made Shaw such a coveted prospect in the first place.
And with Shaw’s fitness better than ever, the math is simple: the more he plays, the more flash plays are possible.
“When he was overweight, he only could go about four plays [at a time],” Evans said. “We need more out of him. I told him, ‘If you can go 40 plays, we’re gonna win everything we need to win.’”
The numbers don’t lie: Shaw’s 21 total tackles through 10 games this fall are nearly equal to his total from his first two seasons combined (29). His two fumble recoveries this season are the first of his college career.
After a bumpy first two seasons, Travis Shaw is putting together the best year of his college career in 2024. (Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Samantha Lewis)
Joshua Harris, who joined the defensive line as a transfer this season after stops at both NC State and Ole Miss, said Shaw’s raw talent is bound for the next level.
“I always tell him, ‘Bro, you’re a first-rounder. There’s nobody who is your size that can move how you move,'” Harris said.
Brown credited the presence of veterans like Harris along the defensive line with mentoring Shaw and guiding him toward breakthroughs like Saturday’s performance against the Demon Deacons.
“He sees Kevin Hester and Josh Harris, he sees how they’re playing, and they’re role models for him,” said Brown. “He wants to do his part.”
Shaw’s part is helping a UNC defensive front which has limited its last three opponents to an average of 54 rushing yards per game. That may loom large against a Boston College offense which ranks second in the ACC in total rushing attempts this season.
In the bigger picture, with Shaw having a year of eligibility remaining – and veterans like Harris, Hester and Evans on their way out – there’s no doubt the future of the Carolina defense revolves around big No. 4. A potential starting spot on the line awaits for the man who once was hardly able to make it to fourth down. And though it took a village to remake Travis Shaw, Collins said the junior’s success on the field boils down to one person.
“At the end of the day, it is Travis Shaw that has done it,” he said. “He’s decided to unleash this part of himself, embrace those kinds of things and get better from it. I’m just really proud of him.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Abbie Parr
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