No drama, just seersucker for Kayne Roberts on signing day

The calls came in 30-minute intervals on Tuesday night.

Larry Fedora launched the dialogue at 8 p.m. Gene Chizik followed, and then John Papuchis.

The calls from members of North Carolina’s football staff to Greenback School’s Kayne Roberts didn’t happen out of fear. There was no drama at the end of this running back/linebacker's recruitment.

But there was seersucker.

“They said ‘you excited? You ready?’ ” said Jesse Roberts, Kayne’s father. “We didn’t sleep much last night. It was exciting.”

Roberts finalized his commitment to North Carolina early on National Signing Day on Wednesday, signing his National Letter of Intent at 7 a.m. Garbed in brown Italian leather shoes, blue slacks and Jesse's blue seersucker jacket, Roberts celebrated his signing later that morning at Greenback.

“I made it clear that I’m a Tar Heel and that’s it,” said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Roberts, who rushed for 2,217 yards and 37 touchdowns on 199 carries as a senior. “I told (linebackers coach Papuchis) the day I visited for the Georgia Tech game (on Nov. 5): ‘The day you offer me is the day I sign. I’m not going anywhere else.’”

Roberts committed to the Tar Heels on Dec. 3, a day after Greenback finished runner-up in the Class 1A BlueCross Bowl in Cookeville. The Mr. Football Back finalist hopes to add 10 pounds to his frame by the time he enrolls on campus, and he wants to get to 235 pounds overall.

“(Papuchis) wants me to be an outside linebacker,” Roberts said. “I honestly feel like (head coach) Fedora is going to have different plans. He’s big on special teams. I feel like I can make an impact on that as soon as I come in.

"... . I feel blessed to be going where I’m going. I’m just excited to meet new people, get up there with the coaches and start the grind."

Contact Chris Thomas at chris.thomas@knoxnews.com. Follow him at twitter.com/christhomaskns