Mack Brown reveals honest conversation with Trevyon Green about spot at North Carolina

Offensive linemen don’t come a whole lot bigger than North Carolina’s Trevyon Green. But the 6-foot-8, 340-pound behemoth has had to grind to get where he is now with Mack Brown’s program.

And speaking about a month ago ahead of spring ball, Brown shared how he was honest on the recruiting trail with Green — now entering his third year with the Tar Heels — about the need for him to get his weight down before a scholarship offer came. Brown had his usual lighthearted nature about the desire for Green to come in with his weight below 350 pounds.

“Because normally, huge guys that come in, eat more when they get here and they get too big,” Brown said. “So that’s why you take a thinner guy and beef him up instead of a big guy and try to get him down. And he didn’t want to visit any other school. He was really interesting, he just wanted to come here.”

So far, Green hasn’t played much for the Tar Heels outside of special teams. He played one game and redshirted in 2022 as a true freshman and played in all 13 games last season on special teams.

Going into 2024, though, Brown suggested that Green, who will likely line up at tackle, could also move inside.

“Boy has he had a good spring. And he’s a guy we played a little bit at guard last year, so he could do that if we’re needing him there. I’m really impressed,” Brown said.

And the biggest obstacle between Green and seeing the field more, Brown said, has been bad luck with injuries.

“I’m pulling for him because nothing has happened, good for him, since he’s been here on the field,” Brown said. “He’s just been hurt the whole time and he’s gotten knocked down a few times and he’s twisted that knee a couple of times and he just gets right back up, goes right back to work. So he’s one I’m really pulling for because he’s such a special young guy.” 

But, though it all, Brown shared, there’s never been a doubt about Green’s work ethic and drive.

“I’ll go by sometime and he’ll say ‘I’m working this.’ And I say, ‘Don’t worry about it. We know you’re working on it.’ And that’s the way he is,” Brown said. “He wants to get his degree, he wants to play great for us and he’d love to have a chance to be an NFL player and it’s fun to watch him. Like I said, we look better getting off the bus right now than we ever had with those two 6-foot-8 tackles.”