We close down our look at the defensive side of the ball with a look at the unit that enters in the best shape for new coordinator Geoff Collins, the defensive backs.
Everything starts with senior Alijah Huzzie, who will move back outside after spending last year in the nickel. He earned All-ACC honorable mention after a strong first season in Chapel Hill where he finished with 42 total tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups and allowed just a 55.6% completion rate, a 62.6 quarterback rating and two touchdowns on 63 targets. The staff has raved about him this spring on the outside, a spot where he thrived last year in the spring, as well. Expect a big season for him matched up against the top receivers that the Tar Heels will face.
Across from him will be junior Marcus Allen, who is back after playing the most snaps of anyone on the defensive side of the ball this past season. He was very solid, racking up 49 total tackles, one interception and seven pass breakups, but he was very hit and miss at times, allowing a 64.6% completion rate, a 106.1 quarterback rating and four touchdowns. The team needs him to take the next step and limit what he allows, especially the explosive plays, but there is reason to be confident that he can do that.
Both safety spots are in good hands. Antavious ‘Stick’ Lane will become the full-time starter at boundary safety after a strong finish to last year. Despite starting three of the eleven games he played in, he finished fourth on the team in total tackles with 62. That aggressiveness will be welcome in the run game and the hope is that him being a starter will allow him to get back to creating the turnovers that he did when he was at Georgia State. Regardless, he will be a steady force on the back end of the defense.
Alongside him at field safety, it appears like it will be NC State transfer Jakeen Harris. He was back to full strength in the spring after he tore a pectoral muscle on the sixth play of the season last year after he had reassumed his starting position after losing it midway through the 2021 season. He needs to clean up some of the explosive plays that he allowed in his time with the Wolfpack, but if he can find what made him so successful in 2020 again, he should be able to win the starting job and keep it.
Junior Will Hardy is back and will be pushing for a chance start over Harris. He has played a rotational role in each of his first two seasons in Chapel Hill and the staff was pleased by what they saw from him in the spring, setting him up to compete for the starting job. He has also had his moments where he has been a little hit and miss in coverage, but if he can prove he has taken a step forward in that area over the course of the next month, he could once again claim the starting job he held the final two games of his freshman season.
Fellow junior DeAndre Boykins could also be a factor here after he spent nearly the entire spring playing safety instead of nickel. He missed all of last season after tearing his ACL at the end of fall camp following a sophomore season where he started all 14 games. While he was very impactful in the run game, piling up 67 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, he really struggled in coverage, allowing the second most receptions and receiving yards in the FBS. At safety, he won’t have nearly as much responsibility in coverage which could allow him to utilize his strengths as a tackler. Depending on what he shows the staff in the next few weeks, he could return to a starting role.
In the nickel, it appears as if it is a two man battle between second year players. Sophomore Kaleb Cost is back with the team after practicing just three times in the spring because he was playing baseball and should have a great shot to win the job after he started the bowl game back in December. He was arguably the best player on the field for the Tar Heels that night, only finishing with four tackles, allowing just three of six targets to be caught and registering two pass breakups. With that type of success in coverage, a good fall camp performance should be enough to earn him the full time starting job.
Pushing him will be redshirt freshman Tre Miller, who spent the spring taking a lot of first team reps at the spot and showing the staff some promise. It doesn’t seem like he was able to do enough to jump ahead of Cost, though, meaning he needs to outshine him in fall camp if he wants to be the starter here.
True freshman Ty White can’t be completely ruled out here either after flashing in the spring. If he can make those flashes more consistent and continue to progress, he could earn himself some playing time right away this season.
On the outside, junior college transfer Tyrane Stewart will hope to provide some rotational snaps and take some of the reps off of Allen and Huzzie’s plates after they played so many snaps last year. The staff was really impressed by what they saw from him in spring and the hope is that he can carry that over to fall camp. If he does and the learning curve from JUCO to the Power 4 level isn’t too steep, he should have a sizable role for this team this season.
True freshman Zion Ferguson was another guy who stood out amongst the newcomers back in the spring. He won’t be pushing for starter reps this season, but if he puts together a good showing over the next few weeks, he could earn some rotational reps this fall.
Redshirt freshman Ty Adams is another guy who will hope to prove to the staff that he can play this fall if needed. He has his ups and downs in the spring and will have to find some consistency if he is hoping to earn some meaningful reps this season.
True freshman Khalil Conley will also be providing depth in his first season with the program. He was picked on a bit while playing outside corner in the spring game, but he has plenty of upside and will have a chance to spend the year learning a position he didn’t really play much in high school.
At safety, three more true freshmen will serve as the depth pieces. Jaiden Patterson, Jalon Thompson and Malcolm Ziglar were all with the team in the spring and had their moments where they flashed. While it’s tough to see any of them playing meaningful snaps this season, there is plenty of promise for this trio’s future.
The unit will contain seven walk-ons this season. Sophomores Major Byrd and Jaden Selby are back in the room after spending the spring with the running backs because of attrition there. They’ll be joined by redshirt freshmen Jack Blythe and Reggie Love II and true freshmen Miles Gaddy, Blaine McClure and Kenyon McMahon.
Projected Depth Chart
FCB
#28 Alijah Huzzie, Sr.
# 8 Zion Ferguson, Fr.
#11 Ty Adams, RFr.
#19 Reggie Love II, RFr.
#36 Blaine McClure, Fr.
FS
# 2 Jakeen Harris, Sr.
#16 DeAndre Boykins, Jr.
# 3 Malcolm Ziglar, Fr.
#39 Major Byrd, So.
#37 Jack Blythe, RFr.
BS
# 1 Stick Lane, Sr.
#31 Will Hardy, Jr.
#20 Jalon Thompson, Fr.
#41 Kenyon McMahon, Fr.
#27 Miles Gaddy, Fr.
BCB
#29 Marcus Allen, Jr.
# 9 Tyrane Stewart, Jr.
#26 Khalil Conley, Fr.
#35 Jaden Selby, So.
STAR
#21 Kaleb Cost, So.
#15 Tre Miller, RFr.
# 0 Ty White, Fr.
#18 Jaiden Patterson, Fr.
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