He had played in 10 games as a true freshman at North Carolina, catching 10 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, but by the time the spring semester rolled around, attending class became, well, optional in his mind. Same thing goes for doing homework and taking tests.

By the time finals came around, Ebron had failed three of his four classes that semester, and he was informed that he was being kicked out of school.

Forget his budding football career; Ebron was seeing a full-ride academic scholarship at a prestigious school quickly slipping from his grasp.

"My wife, Kimberly, she works for the school system — she's an administrator in the school system, and she does not play when it comes to education," Ebron Sr. said. "We were going to get Eric and Jamee either iPods or iPads, and as we crossed the threshold of the Apple Store both of our phones ding. We both look at our phone and there's a message from Eric.

"We're standing in the aisle of the mall and he says, 'Dad, I messed it up,'" Ebron's father continued. "Kimberly and I were getting ready to get into the car and head to North Carolina from New Jersey immediately. We were on our way to put our foot in his behind; to talk to him, to find out what options he had."

Ebron, as it turned out, did have one option available to him. He wrote a heartfelt letter to the school dean expressing his regret for his academic performance and promising he would go above and beyond to get back on track if given a second chance.

It worked. But that was only half of Ebron's troubles.

Now he had to go face his new head coach.

Larry Fedora was formally introduced as North Carolina's head coach in December of 2011, and when he started to dig into his new roster the following month, he took note of this athletic freshman at tight end who just couldn't seem to get things right in the classroom.

"I didn't know Eric coming in," Fedora said. "I knew that he had great potential, and he didn't really play much tight end in high school. But I knew that he got to Carolina, and it's not easy to get into Carolina. So I knew if he did that, he had the ability to make it there. But he didn't put the effort in; he didn't concentrate on it."

Fedora didn't mince words in his first meeting with Ebron.

"He says, "You've got a bad stigma. No one really believes in you. No one likes you because you just don't care,'" Ebron said. "So I had to completely change who I was."

So how'd he do it? Ebron said it started with nightly trips to the home of his tight ends coach, Walt Bell, where he was obligated to complete his homework and study for tests. He also gave his parents access to his grades, and they stayed in contact with his professors. The result: Ebron didn't get anything worse than a "B" the following year.

"I hate letting people down," Ebron said. "So that's my biggest thing. I didn't want to let my family down. I didn't want to let Larry down. I didn't want to let my teammates down. Because I created a band of brothers that, I mean, we talk everyday to this day. Like ever since we left college we talk every single day. So I had a group of people I didn't want to let down. So I had to do what I had to do to get back."

Ebron not only ended up flourishing in the classroom, however. With Fedora, an offensive-minded head coach, now leading the charge on the field, the talented tight end quickly rose to the top of the depth chart. In 2012, his sophomore year, Ebron logged 40 receptions for 625 yards and four touchdowns.