NSA 4-Star RB George Pettaway Makes ACC Call
Electric. Fluid. Smooth. All have been adjectives to describe Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Class of 2022 athlete George Pettaway on the football field. And why not?
After all, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound all-purpose running back has thoroughly dominated competition on the private school gridiron scene and accumulated upwards of 30 scholarship offers in the process.
On Wednesday evening, his hectic recruiting process reached its culmination when the Rivals four-star talent announced his college destination at his Virginia High School.
Pettaway selected Coach Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels of the ACC over finalists Florida, Oregon and Penn State.
The addition for UNC gives them the No. 101 overall prospect in the class according to Rivals.com, No. 5 rated running back and No. 4 ranked player in all of Virginia.
Not only does Pettaway become the 15th verbal commit in the Class of 2022 for UNC, but he’s the fifth from the Commonwealth. He’s also the third out of the famed ‘757’ area code, joining Virginia Beach talents Tayon Holloway of Green Run High School and Tychaun Chapman from Landstown High School.
Of course, the Heels are well-versed in Hampton Roads with assistant coach Dre Bly being a former star player in the area during his days a Western Branch High in Chesapeake. Plus, UNC has been able to lure top recruits in recent years from those stomping grounds with NFL player Dazz Newsome as well as current DB’s Tony Grimes from Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach and Cam’Ron Kelly out of Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake.
So far in four games this season, Pettaway has rushed for 479 yards and 11 TD's on 43 attempts (17.4 yards per carry) to go with eight receptions for 203 yards and two more scores for a 3-1 Saints team.
During an abbreviated junior season, the Tidewater product rushed for 714 yards and 14 TD's on 52 carries (an average of 13.7 yards per attempt) to go with six catches for 111 yards and two more scores.
Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to Cavs Corner and the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.