Mack Brown wants to see Andre Greene take a step forward in North Carolina spring game

Spring practice is nearing its conclusion in Chapel Hill, as North Carolina‘s spring game scheduled for Saturday will mark the end of their practices. The Tar Heels lost their two leading wide receivers last season in Josh Downs in Antoine Green, which head coach Mack Brown combatted with the transfer portal additions of Nate McCollum and Devontez Walker.

But according to Brown, Andre Greene has also had his name in the mix out wide for his recent performance in the Tar Heels last scrimmage.

“I would think right now we’ve got four and that would be the two new ones, it would be Kobe Paysour, and Gavin Blackwell. Those would be the four we put out there today. Andre had by far his best scrimmage on Thursday, so he is getting in that mix and that’s important,” Brown said.

Greene redshirted in his freshman season last year, appearing in just five games last season and making his first career start in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon. He recorded three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown versus the Ducks, and has built on that momentum heading into spring practice, earning himself some first team reps from passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway.

“We feel like it’s really important for us for Andre to step up,” Brown said. “Lonnie actually played him with the blues on Thursday some and got him out there with Drake (Maye) some to step up and go.”

Greene was a four-prospect out of St. Christopher’s School in Virginia, where he was ranked the No. 81 player in the nation and the No. 13 wide receiver of the 2022 class according to On3’s Industry Rankings. He was a highly touted recruit that Brown didn’t feel like was ready to emerge last season, but this year could be a different story.

“I think sometimes if you’re not careful you get all these stars, and all these offers, you get all these recruits, and then the pressure and the standard is set so high that it’s hard for freshman to just come in and live up to that immediately,” Brown explained, “We said it happens in basketball, it doesn’t happen as much in football. And we felt like it’s taken him to this point to be ready to go and feel confident and good about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.”

It’s clear that Greene has been making plays this offseason, and making more in Saturday’s scrimmage could set himself up to be a weapon the Tar Heels strongly consider using more this fall compared to the last.

“And that’s why Lonnie put him out there in some very competitive situations Thursday. He caught a touchdown pass, he made somebody miss a tackle and had a 20-yard run afterwards, so he really flashed some on Thursday for the first time,” Brown said.