UNC Football 2026 Position Preview: Defensive Backs

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If there’s one thing most Carolina fans agreed upon when UNC hired Bill Belichick, it was the likelihood of significant defensive improvement. That did not happen. Depending on what one values in defensive football, one could make the argument the defense either slightly improved or slightly regressed. Major improvement, however? No. In that vein, UNC’s secondary moved forward in some respects but backwards in others. Four senior starters from that unit graduated, and now the secondary’s a rebuild.

Let’s start with a quick look at some numbers to see how much of one.

Why do SP+ and FEI see last year’s defense so differently? Short, oversimplified version: SP+ liked UNC’s “yards per play allowed,” which ranked 25th nationally. FEI hated UNC’s “touchdowns allowed per drive,” which ranked 81st. Those raw stats don’t factor opponent strength, though. UNC last season faced some of college football’s worst offenses, and that’s why FPI and FEI heavily discount UNC’s raw stats. Even the raw stats, however, reveal some fatal flaws.

Let’s take a closer look at the pass defense from 2025 compared to 2024, starting with long pass plays allowed (categories in yards):

Looking at long passing plays specifically, an interesting dynamic emerges. 2025 surrendered more plays in the 10+ yards column over the season, despite playing one less game. However, 2025 did a much better job of containing those completions, allowing far fewer of those to turn into even bigger gains. Carolina’s defense last season played conservatively on the back end, trying to keep things in front of them. The upside was fewer 20+ yard chunk plays. The downside was allowing a lot of first downs underneath. UNC finished 59th nationally in 1st downs allowed via the pass and 106th in first downs via penalty (again, against some of the worst passing offenses in college football).

The theme of conceding opponents significant success in the short and intermediate passing game was even worse on the defensive “money downs,” UNC’s chances to get off the field. In 2025, UNC ranked 104th in the nation in allowing 3rd down conversions and 134th in allowing 4th down conversions (2024 was 38th and 66th, respectively). Much of that falls at the feet of last year’s secondary. UNC’s defense ranked 66th stopping third down conversions via the pass. Opponents threw 88 times on third and four or more, enjoying a 64% completion rate and averaging 11 yards per catch. Opponents throwing on fourth downs converted seven of 11 attempts at 15 yards per catch, a 63.6% success rate which would have ranked 114th nationally on its own.

Again, this was against the easiest collection of offenses UNC’s faced since at least 2007, per FEI, which is far back as that data goes. More context: five of the 12 QBs UNC faced last season finished with lower QBRs than Gio Lopez. UNC’s secondary went into last season with four seniors combining for 142 games of experience; this wasn’t a raw group of young players learning on the job. Both starting corners got NFL camp invitations. It was on paper an experienced and talented position group. Yet, it finished 92nd in the country in passes defended per game and in a 12-way tie at 105th in interceptions.

So, with those four senior starters gone, the secondary essentially starts over with much less experienced players. On a positive note, UNC does return three back-up DBs who were on the field for slightly more than half UNC’s defensive snaps. Let’s take a look at how UNC might reset its pass defense. That starts with 21 defensive backs on a 105 man roster, or 20% of the locker room dedicated to this one position group. Players in bold are expected to be part of the rotation in five defensive back sets.

The Departed

• Marcus Allen: graduated, UDFA (Vikings)
• Khalil Conley: Appalachian State
• Thaddeus Dixon: graduated, UDFA (Giants)
• Gavin Gibson: graduated
• Will Hardy: graduated
• Ty White: NC State
• Malcolm Ziglar: USF

The Returned

• Ty Adams, redshirt sophomore, 5’11”, 180
• Jermaine Anderson, 6’2”, 195
• Coleman Bryson, redshirt senior, 6’2”, 210
• Javion Butts, sophomore, 6’1”, 175
• Kaleb Cost, senior, 5’11”, 195
• Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins, redshirt sophomore, 5’11”, 185
• Reggie Love, 5’8”, 175
• Tre Miller, redshirt junior, 5’10”, 180
• Jaiden Patterson, junior, 6’1”, 180
• Greg Smith, redshirt sophomore, 6’4”, 215
• Jalon Thompson, junior, 5’11”, 185
• Peyton Waters, redshirt sophomore, 6’1”, 185

The New Guys

• Julian Burns, 6’3”, 194 (3 star)
• David Davis, 6’0”, 190 (3 star)
• Kenton Dopson, 6’1”, 185 (4 star)
• Jamarrion Gordon, 5’11”, 202 (3 star)
• Jaziel Hart, 6’0”, 170 (3 star)
• Xavier Jackson, 6’1”, 185 (3 star)
• Jaden Jefferson, 5’9”, 165 (3 star)*
• Julian Peterson, 6’2”. 175 (3 star)
• Jakob Weatherspoon, 5’10”, 175 (4 star)

*Note: Jaden Jefferson was listed as an athlete or defensive back by recruiting services, but Jefferson seems to be working on offense as a slot receiver. Jefferson, who played running back and cornerback in high school, broke the California record in the 100m with a time 10.01. He ran the 200m in 20.86. Petrino values speed.

The Imported

• Ade Willie (from Michigan State), redshirt senior, 6’1”, 190

The competitions at safety, corner, and nickel (slot)

UNC last season used nine defensive backs extensively, although part of that was due to Thaddeus Dixon’s injury. While some players, like Patterson, can be expected to hold down a single position all season, others, like Cost and Willie, might move around depending on the opponent and the health of others in the DB room. Predicting who ends up where and for which opponents will be something of a guessing game. It’s always a matter of getting the best five on the field for a given opponent.

Safety: Based on snaps from last season, Bryson and Butts return the most experience at the position. Smith and Waters both possess the speed and physical attributes Belichick prizes in his safeties. Notably, Smith briefly entered the transfer portal late in that January window before UNC made sure he remains a Tar Heel. That could indicate Smith figures prominently in the plans for 2026. Cost seems likely to start at nickel, but college defenses often rotate the starting nickel back to safety when a starting safety gets dinged. Those five will probably see the most snaps at safety this season, although it’s hard to know in what order. Rumblings after spring practice indicate the offense lit up the secondary, so that may have shuffled how coaches see playing time.

Corner:Patterson seems a lock at one of the corner spots, based on snaps from last season. The other corner spot has a number of candidates, starting with Miller and Thompson. Willie could be in the mix at this spot as well as slot. True freshmen Dopson, who flipped from Miami, and Weatherspoon, who flipped from Ohio State, could also earn time here as they adjust to college game and learn the intricacies of Belichick’s complex coverage schemes.

Nickel (slot):Cost and Willie will probably man this spot the most, but both of them are also the most likely wildcards in the secondary, given their positional versatility and experience. A third candidate for snaps here likely comes from the list of returning players who aren’t specializing at one of the other positions.

Others: Given the near total silence out of the program over the spring and summer, identifying which returning players might be taking a step forward becomes nearly impossible. The fact UNC only pursued one DB in the transfer portal could indicate that the coaching staff felt good about what it already had in the room and the DBs in the recruiting class. Nine true freshmen raises the odds one of them unexpectedly showed out in spring practice and summer workouts. The staff has given itself a lot of bites at the apple in this group, which makes sense given college defense these days play five defensive backs most of the time and sometimes even six.

So, those are the names and potential roles for the defensive backs, five of which are likely to be on the field most plays. What are your thoughts on UNC’s pass defense as we approach kick-off in Dublin?

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