How UNC's Secondary Handled Attrition: "We Just Stuck to the Script"

The UNC secondary has suffered plenty of attrition this season. As coach Mack Brown pointed out, the team’s entire starting defensive backfield for the opener was not available for the Duke game.

That has given an opportunity for young players to contribute, like Cam’ron Kelly.

The sophomore strong safety was second on the team against Duke with 11 tackles, including five solo tackles, also second-best. He also broke up a pass. For the season, he’s third on the Tar Heel defense with 43 tackles. He also has a tackle for loss and two pass breakups.

“I’ve definitely gotten more comfortable in run fits, as well as the passing game,” he says of his improvement over last year. “Bouncing back was a great thing for me. The guys in the room motivated me. You’re doing it for the person right next to you, doing it for the team. I’m just keeping my head on. We’re keeping each other’s head on during this time, because everybody knows football is a tough game, especially the mental and physical approach. We’re just dialed in. I’ve definitely become more comfortable and more of a team player in a sense.”

That’s helped, since the secondary is going deeper and deeper into the depth chart.

“We just stuck to the script,” he said. “We came together as a unit, as Rude Boys, as a DB room. We came together. We’re a very tight knit group. We didn’t let the odds define us, especially with the opt outs and the injuries. We just took it day by day, kept our heads on, kept our heads high and focused on every game plan, every practice and made each other better.”