High school senior Linebacker Dan Mastromatteo of Absecon, N.J., upon learning of UNC coach Butch Davis’ firing, decommitted to the Carolina program but earlier this month he recommitted.

High school football players may not sign binding letters of intent until February.

“I sort of overreacted,” said Mastromatteo, who decommitted two days after Davis was fired. “I was hearing a lot of things, and I needed to relax. I weighed my options and realized that North Carolina was best for me. The other coaches stayed. The program is on the rise. I still love the school. . . . The academics are great. . . . I always wanted to play in the NFL, and I see myself getting into coaching.”

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior linebacker, who also plays fullback, is ranked the 68th best high school linebacker nationally by rivals.com. He had solid offers from Rutgers and Tulane.

Other ACC teams to recruit Mastromatteo were N.C. State, Maryland and Boston College.

Matt Raudenbush, a senior golfer at UNC, caddied for Rory McIlroy earlier this summer and perhaps as a tribute or perhaps as a converted fan, McIlroy sported a Carolina hat during the PGA Championships last week.

Raudenbush is the son of South Jersey’s Pine Valley Golf Club and he was fortunate enough to caddy for McIlroy, winner of the 2011 U.S. Open, for 36 holes at Pine Valley in June.

“I’ve been caddying pretty regular this summer, when I don’t have a tournament and have the time to do it,” Raudenbush said. “I think [my dad] knew about it about a week before he came. That day the caddiemaster just said, ‘Matt, you’re caddying for Rory.’ And I was like, ‘OK, that’s cool.’ He hooked me up.

“The first day, they played around [noon]. I met him in the parking lot. If you didn’t know who he was, you’d think he was just some 22-year-old kid who just likes to hang out. I guess they hit balls. We just went right to the [first] tee. Then off we went.”

Raudenbush is actually 5 months older than McIlroy.

“As a college golfer, I tried to do everything I could to pick his brain,” Raudenbush said. “He helped a lot. He thinks everything through. Then he talks about the different shots that he hit. Every time, I saw him do something a little different. It’s unbelievable. He hits the shot he wants, almost every time, always within 4 or 5 yards of the number he was trying to, which is really everything. It was just I’d tell him what to hit or where to hit it, and that’s what he’d do. First hole, you need to hit it about 280 to the right-center [of the fairway], and he just cut one right in there.”

ABC11 is reporting that police sergeant Shawn Smith was fired following his investigation into a wreck that involved four UNC football players.

Smith charged former UNC player Herman Davidson only with not having a valid driver’s license despite alcohol and speed of the car being involved. Davidson was not issued a speeding ticket and no one was taken into custody.

ABC11, WTVD, reports that “The initial report said the car was traveling the speed limit at the time of the crash; but nearly 16 hours later, the report was later changed to say the car was going 45 mph in a 25 mph zone.”

Smith is reported as saying, “I let my love for UNC interfere with real life and I paid the price.”

UNC players Carl Gaskins Jr., Dion Guy and Ebele Okakpu were passengers in the vehicle, owned by Okakpu’s father. The car sustained $18,000 in damage.

Junior shortstop Levi Michael agreed to terms with the Minnesota Twins Monday night beginning his professional career after a stellar three-year career at North Carolina. Michael was the 30th overall selection in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft and was the sixth Tar Heel taken in the first round since 2006.

Signees Bryan Brickhouse (Kansas City Royals, third round) and Dillon Maples (Chicago Cubs, 14th round) signed professional contracts and will not attend North Carolina.

Michael finished his career hitting .306 with 183 runs scored, 159 RBI and 81 extra-base hits (43-2B, 11-3B, 27-HR). The Welcome, N.C., native also drew 119 walks in his career to rank sixth in school history.

Michael joins Matt Harvey (2010 – 7th overall, New York Mets), Dustin Ackley (2009 – 2nd overall, Seattle Mariners), Alex White (2009 – 15th overall, Cleveland Indians), Andrew Miller (2006 – 6th overall, Detroit Tigers) and Daniel Bard (2006 – 28th overall, Boston Red Sox) as Tar Heels drafted in the first round since 2006. The six selections are more than any other school in country.

A trio of seniors inked deals at the end of the College World Series as eight round pick Greg Holt signed with the Washington Nationals, 24th round selection Jesse Wierzbicki signed with the Houston Astros and 25th round pick Patrick Johnson joined the Colorado Rockies.

Junior catcher Jacob Stallings who was selected in the 42nd round by the Cincinnati Reds did not sign Monday and will enter his senior campaign in 2012.

Five drafted incoming freshmen elected not to sign professional contracts as well and will be joining Stallings in Chapel Hill for the 2012 season.

With Cody Stubbs (Washington Nationals, 14th round), Josh Ake (New York Mets, 29th round), Chris McCue (New York Yankees, 35th round), Adam Griffin (Cleveland Indians, 44th round) and Zac LaNeve (Florida Marlins, 44th round) not signing Carolina will welcome in 17 newcomers this fall.

Don’t laugh but quarterback T.J. Yates was drafted higher than New England Patriots’ Tom Brady. Could he be the next Brady?

Yates, a starter at UNC for four years, was drafted in the fifth round by the Houston Texans this year while Brady was taken in the sixth round in 2000. They are both 6-foot-4 and Brady is five pounds heavier at 225.

Brady didn’t start in college until his senior season at Michigan when he completed 214 of 350 passes for 2636 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. During his senior season, the more experienced Yates completed 282 of 422 passes for 3418 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

A lot of people scoff at the possibility that a UNC quarterback would even start in the NFL much less be good. After all, the last UNC signal caller to be drafted as a quarterback was Chris Kupec back in ’75. Scott Stankavage played a little, completing eight of 25 passes over four games.

Danny Talbott, who was the best all-around athlete in North Carolina in the 1960s, led the ACC in total offense and scoring but languished for three seasons behind the Redskins’ Sonny Jurgensen. He only played in preseason games.

Some thought Mark Maye and Chris Keldorf would have a chance but no.

Yates is smart, experienced, good under pressure, makes good decisions with ball, is a good leader and is playing in an offensive system that suits him. So, he does have a chance.

After the draft, some experts ranked Yates as one of the steals of the draft.

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said he couldn’t believe Yates was still on the board in round five of the NFL draft.

Kubiak said, “He had a very solid career in college, which nowadays, we look at some players that have one-year careers, two-year careers — this kid had a nice four-year career and he played his best as a senior. He also overcame adversity at North Carolina. I just like everything he stands for. He is basically running our offense there at North Carolina. He walks in and he’s going to know what we’re doing.”

Matt Schaub, who played at Virginia, is the starter for the Texans and he’s been solid and even spectacular in 2009 when he went to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for Tom Brady. So, Yates may have to wait. Brady himself wasn’t even on the active game day roster on several occasions during his first season.

Currently, Yates is No. 3 on the depth chart behind Matt Leinart.

Last night in their first preseason game, the Texans beat the Jets 20-16 after Yates led his team to the winning score in the last two minutes. It appeared that Yates had thrown for the winning score but a replay ruled it no catch. Still, Houston later scored to win it. Yates finished six of 12 for 97 yards.

Before the season, Kubiak said, “This kid has a chance to be a ‘one’ in this league if he keeps moving forward.”

So, don’t laugh.