One UNC Defensive Star To Watch This Season

The North Carolina Tar Heels are searching for someone — or anyone — to help turn the program around with head coach Bill Belichick, who enters his second season with lower expectations but a hotter seat after a 4-8 debut campaign last fall.

After the offense sputtered to become one of the worst in the FBS in 2025, Belichick became aggressive by hiring offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino and signing many transfers to the unit in an effort to revamp and improve the talent on this side of the ball. The upside is there for a handful of players on a unit led by the wide receiver Jordan Shipp.

A Star May Be Born

Cost UNC — Sep 28, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive back Kaleb Cost (21) reacts to a tackle during the first half of the game against Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

However, the stars are lacking in a sense outside of Shipp and edge rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude. Someone must step up in 2026, providing the program with excitement and an impact player who can improve the ceiling of the roster's expectations.

That player could very well be cornerback Kaleb Cost, the redshirt junior and former 3-star recruit who played baseball two seasons ago for the Tar Heels. Now that his focus is on football, Cost can turn his attention to being one of the top defenders on the roster.

Cost has been a productive player for the past two seasons with 113 tackles, three interceptions, and nine passes defended in that span.

He has mostly been a nickel defender under Belichick and former head coach Mack Brown, though his role could be more expansive as he continues to grow as a player. What stands out is his football intelligence, production, athletic profile, and a good frame holstered on his 5-foot-10 stature.

Cost Makes Tar Heels' Secondary Better

In his second season in Belichick's defensive system, he may finally have a grasp on what needs to be communicated in the secondary, which was at times flawed due to the newness of the scheme that created the "bend, don't break" unit that kept North Carolina in a majority of their games until they couldn't.

Theoretically, with an improved offense, there is less strain on the defense to make as many plays as it was forced to make in 2025. This should open the door for more ball production from Cost and impact plays across the board, whether it is from Cost or not. Even so, his short-area burst and closing speed to the football stand out when watching him on tape.

Another Star, Another Opportunity for Improvement

Costs run defense and untouched ceiling in pass coverage give him every opportunity to become a star for the Tar Heels. It would be a great feeling for Belichick knowing he has another defender to lean on when it is needed, whether it is an open-field tackle around the line of scrimmage for a key stop or a crucial pass breakup in four-down territory.

North Carolina has an opportunity for more improvement on defense should Cost become another star for the program this fall. It could turn the unit into one no one in the ACC wants to deal with.

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