Rolesville High School junior Zavion Griffin-Haynes announced his commitment to North Carolina on Sunday, which surprised some who follow recruiting closely.

Although committing earlier is becoming more common, committing during the first few weeks of your junior season is earlier than most. There was also a lot of speculation from reporters on the recruiting beat that Griffin-Haynes would end up at Ohio State.

But for the 6-foot-6, 220-pound, four-star edge rusher, the decision came down to relationships.

“UNC just felt like home. I had a relationships with all the coaches, not just one coach. All the coaches would hit me up on the daily, checking up on me, seeing how practice was, how I played, coming to see me in person. It was a really great experience being recruited by (UNC),” Griffin-Haynes told HighSchoolOT. “I feel like it was the right time for me and my family.”

The family aspect was important for his decision-making process. Griffin-Haynes said his mom was able to go to UNC twice, including last weekend.

“She just loved it. She loved the atmosphere, she loved the coaches, and it just felt like home,” he said.

UNC could feel even more like family for Griffin-Haynes. His older brother, Jayden, a 6-foot-3 wide receiver, has also received an offer from the Tar Heels.

“Going to college, we’re trying to come as a package, so if you want me, you got to want him too,” Zavion said. “We could push each other and just make each other better day by day.”

While UNC ultimately landed Griffin-Haynes’ commitment, it was NC State that gave him his first ACC offer. He said the Wolfpack played a role in his recruitment, and some of his former high school teammates tried to help sway his decision.

Rolesville alums Noah Rogers and Tamarcus Cooley transferred to NC State during the off season, Rogers from Ohio State and Cooley from Maryland. Griffin-Haynes said Rogers tried to to talk him into committing to the Pack.

“Noah did. They love seeing me up there all the time, but I had to do what was best for me,” he said, noting that NC State was a factor. “But they run a three-man front, so I wouldn’t really fit their scheme.”

Griffin-Haynes had a bunch of offers when he committed. Appalachian State, Auburn, Charlotte, Duke, Florida A&M, Florida State, Illinois, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, NC State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Troy, UCLA, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Western Michigan had all extended offers to compete with UNC. So why did so many colleges want him on their roster?

“My size, my speed coming off the ball. Some of the stuff I’m doing right now are some of the things they’re teaching their guys,” Griffin-Haynes said, adding that UNC’s coaches believe they can help him build on that skill set.

He said the staff at UNC wants to see him continue developing in the pass rush, stopping the run, and dropping back into coverage. Those are the things he will focus on as he completes his last two years of high school.

Griffin-Haynes has played basketball in the past, but he doesn’t expect to continue this season. He said he plans to use that time to get ready for college.

“I just want to stay consistent in the weight room, stay consistent training, just working on my game. You can never be too good at one thing, you can always keep getting better,” he said.

Before he gets to the off season though, Rolesville has high expectations for this fall. The Rams entered the year ranked No. 1 in the state by HighSchoolOT. They opened the season with a convincing win at Butler, but lost at home to a Grimsley team that, along with Rolesville, is expected to be a 4A state championship contender this season.

“We definitely have work to do, but you know, we’re just working day-by-day, every day,” Griffin-Haynes said. “Everybody thinks we’re a bust now ever since we lost to Grimsley, but we’re just working day-by-day.”

Rolesville is 2-1 on the season and will travel to Cardinal Gibbons on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Rams close out non-conference play on Sept. 20 with a road game at Athens Drive.

Source: highschoolot.com