UNC’s Defensive Backfield Channels Rude Boy Tradition

If you were as kind as Mr. Fred Rogers, you’d say North Carolina’s 2024 defense was bad. But if Shakespeare were to write their story, it would be a tragedy of epic proportions.

A large part of that was the pass defense, which was No. 80 in passing defense and No. 105 in takeaways out of 133 teams at the FBS level. Carolina allowed at least 34 points in five of the seven losses the team suffered last season, with its worst performance coming in a 70-50 defeat to James Madison, a Group of Five program.

There needed to be a mindset change in the defensive backfield. That’s where the Rude Boys come in.

Who are the “Rude Boys”

UNC — Dre Bly was the standout of the Rude Boys, recording 20 interceptions from 1996 to 1998 — a mark that still stands as a school record. Bly was also a two-time consensus All-American and a three-time first-team All-ACC selection. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The “Rude Boys” were the famed defensive backfield of the mid-to-late 1990s that defined one of North Carolina’s most successful defensive decades. The group featured Dre Bly, Omar Brown, Greg Williams and Robert Williams, with Reggie Love, Sr. rotating in.

Three members — Bly, Brown and Robert Williams — earned All-ACC honors. Bly, the star of the unit, was also a consensus All-American for the second straight year after recording a team-high five interceptions.

Anchored by that secondary, the Tar Heels finished with the nation’s No. 2 overall defense (209.3 yards allowed per game) and the No. 3 pass defense (131.3 yards allowed).

Dixon has embraced them as they have given advice to him and the other players in the defensive back room.

“Yeah, honestly, they had reached out to us with the new staff,” Dixon said. “They just wanted to make sure the culture was right in the defensive back room. As y’all know, UNC’s had a great tradition of getting the DBs going back all the way to the ’90s, so really just emphasizing us — like what they can see out of us this year and how we should play, how we should attack practice, and how we should carry ourselves.”

“They're still tuned in and they're still passionate about the game, passionate about what's going on in the locker room and out at practice,” Dixon continued. “So it was an honor for me to be the new guy coming in and for everybody to be so warm, welcoming, and, you know, talking to me and making sure I'm getting all the do's right.”

The Rude Boy Mentality

UNC — Nov 16, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive back Marcus Allen (29) reacts with defensive backs Kaleb Cost (21) and Antavious Lane (1) after intercepting the ball in the third quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

However, saying you’re a Rude Boy doesn’t make you one. That’s something senior defensive back Gavin Gibson understands.

“Some of the founding fathers of Rude Boys came and they told us what it was like,” senior Gibson said on “The Come Up”, UNC’s self-produced YouTube docuseries. “They told us if you're gonna say that, then you gotta mean it.”

“It’s not something that you just break it down on just because that’s been the thing around here,” Gibson continued. “If you’re going to be a Rude Boy, then you gotta be a Rude Boy. You gotta take that to practice, you gotta take that to the weight room and you have to take that to the game especially.”

Love, now a familiar presence around the program with his son Reggie Love II in the current defensive back room, described what it meant to be a Rude Boy.

“It’s a system or a thought or belief pattern that’s aggressive, right?” Love said on The Come Up. “It’s competitive and we practiced hard, we worked hard. It was more of an attitude than it was who you are.”

Can They Live Up to the Hype?

UNC — CB Thaddeus Dixon | Grant Chachere, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

Now, the question remains how they can honor the legacy of the Rude Boys through their play on the field. The good news is that the defensive backfield is the most experienced position group on the team as three of the players in it are returning starters.

Cornerback Marcus Allen is a three-year starter with over 1,800 snaps under his belt. Last year, he had 36 tackles, a tackle for loss, two interceptions, and six pass breakups.

Caleb Kost started all 13 games, played the most defensive snaps of anyone on the team, and finished with 69 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and six pass breakups. He could improve as a tackler, but he’s a solid nickel who plays a key role in today’s pass-heavy game.

Hardy isn’t a returning starter, but he’s been a rotational player for three years and still put up 34 tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble last season. If that’s what he can do without starting, imagine his production as a full-time guy.

“Yeah, it's a little pressure,” Dixon said. “Obviously, you know, you want to live up to the OGs and their standards, but, you know, at the end of the day, it's just football. You know, we just got to keep playing football. I mean, it's the same game we grew up playing, so.”

UNC — Sep 16, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive back Will Hardy (31) reacts in the second quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Love will be cheering on the “new” Rude Boys this season but will also give his critiques as he wants to see the group succeed.

“We’ll be around,” Love said. “We’ll be coming to the games, of course. If we can’t make it, we’re going to be watching and we’re going to be supporting, but we’re going to be critiquing the young Rude Boys. So, we're going to see a great defensive backfield this year, and moving forward, we’re going to see some more history being made.”

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