William Heine of East Chapel Hill committed to Georgetown, and Chapel Hill's R.J. Quick has signed on for Winston-Salem State.

Heine, a 6-5, 280-pound senior played at right tackle for East, helping to protect record-setting QB Drew Davis in coach Bill Renner's "five-wide" offense. Heine will be joining his brother James at Georgetown, who's a pitcher for the Hoyas' baseball team.

Quick, not the biggest Tiger at 5--11, 180 pounds, was still one of the biggest guns as a top receiver for Issac Marsh as CHHS went 10-3 last season.

He was also one of the quickest, no pun intended, with 4.5 speed.

High school athletes may commit to college programs at any time, but the agreement is not binding for the player or the school until a player signs a national letter of intent.

The football signing period began Wednesday and will continue through April 1. Field hockey, soccer, cross country and track and field have the same signing period.

At Carrboro on Wednesday, the school held its first-ever signing ceremony for four female athletes. They were:

Neela Mahanty, University of Pennsylvania field hockey;

Kylie Tawney, Clemson University women's soccer;

Samantha Burch, Elon University women's soccer; and

Katie Furey, the University of North Carolina's women's swimming.

While she'll be the lone Carrboro swimmer on the UNC varsity, Furey can expect to see some familiar faces at Koury Natatorium. Bryce and Jesse Mendes (Chapel Hill), Marie Pesacreta (Chapel Hill), Carly Smith and diver Ryland Jones (East Chapel Hill) are all current Tar Heels.

Griffin chooses

UNC early

When he was barely out of middle school, Benjamin Griffin approached two UNC golfers on the first tee of the Chapel Hill Country Club, asking if he could join them.

We're playing from the back tees, they said.

Fine, Griffin countered. "I'll beat you from the back tees."

And he did.

That must have caught the attention of Carolina's coaches.

Now a sophomore at East Chapel Hill, Griffin committed verbally last week to attend the University of North Carolina. He will join the Tar Heels during the fall of 2014. Griffin intends to pursue business school while at UNC, which is ranked among the best in the nation.

Griffin is the reigning NCHSAA 4A high school champion and two-time defending U.S. Kids Teen World Champion.

He was named to the first team N.C. All State team and was selected to the elite All-Carolinas junior team this year.

He is the No. 1-ranked junior golfer in North Carolina and ranked No. 1 in the Triad Youth Golf Association's class of 2014. Golfweek ranks him in the top 20 nationally in the class of 2014.

One of the biggest factors in choosing UNC was new head coach Andrew Sapp, Griffin said, citing Sapp's commitment to academic achievement, his integrity, and his past success at leading other Division 1 schools to championships.

Griffin's parents, Cowan and Erika, both attended the University of North Carolina and work in Chapel Hill.