Keeping It Heel
Fansided

Top UNC Football players for 2017: No. 10 Jalen Dalton

By Brandon Griffin

Dec 29, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora (left) greets Tar Heels defensive end Jalen Dalton (97) during pre game warmups before the Russell Athletic Bowl against the Baylor Bears at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora (left) greets Tar Heels defensive end Jalen Dalton (97) during pre game warmups before the Russell Athletic Bowl against the Baylor Bears at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Keeping It Heel continues its countdown of the top 25 players on the North Carolina Tar Heels roster with player No. 10

#25 Noah Ruggles | #24 Tomon Fox | #23 Jordan Cunningham | #22 Tyler Powell 

#21 Brandon Fritts | #20 Jonah Melton | #19 Stanton Truitt | #18 Myles Dorn

#17 Cayson Collins | #16 Michael Carter | #15 Tom Sheldon | #14 JT Cauthen

#13 Aaron Crawford | #12 Johnathon Sutton | #11 Juval Mollette

Keeping It Heel is going to continue to help you countdown the weeks until college football season by revealing our list of the top 25 UNC players for the upcoming season.

The college football season kicks off in about 10 weeks. Can you believe it?

Sure, NBA Free Agency is ready to kick off in a blur, but honestly, we have reached a dead period in sports, one that could use some gridiron action.

So what better way to get into the football mood than getting a sneak peek at the future of the Tar Heels.

Let’s take a look at player No. 10, a junior defensive tackle who showed great improvement last season.

Position: Defensive Tackle

Hometown: Clemmons, North Carolina

High School: West Forsyth

Last Season: Last Season, Dalton moved inside to defensive tackle and saw a huge uptick in his numbers. He finished the season with 27 tackles, 1.5 for loss, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery.

Dalton played in all 13 games last season. His best game came in a win against the Citadel. In that victory over the Bulldogs, Dalton had 7 tackles, which was a career high for him.

Why he might move up this list: Dalton is now the go-to guy. Last season he joined with Nazair Jones, who is now with the Seahawks. Without Jones, Dalton will be the elder leader in the interior.

Dalton also saw his tackles jump by 75 percent. Another jump like that this season and Dalton would have close to 50 tackles, which would put him near the top of all defensive linemen on the team.

Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason (10) looks to pass as center Brandon Kublanow (54) blocks North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Jalen Dalton (97) during the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason (10) looks to pass as center Brandon Kublanow (54) blocks North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Jalen Dalton (97) during the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

Why he might move down this list: Depth. The Tar Heels have some that this year. Dalton is the third defensive tackle to make this list after Aaron Crawford and Tyler Powell.

Obviously, there is playing time available with the loss of Jones, but depth, thought good for a team, can eat into a players playing time and hinder their stats.

Dalton also has zero sacks in his college career. A lot of times that has to do with the position, but Jones, Crawford, Powell, and Jeremiah Clarke all had at least one sack last season for the Tar Heels.

Again sacks aren’t everything, but the opportunities are there, he just has to take them. He did record a sack in the spring game, so there is hope this is a break out year.

There is also the question of how much Dalton’s success was tied to playing next to Jones, only time will tell.

Prediction: Dalton moved from defensive end to defensive tackle and it showed some big payoffs. Even with Jones in the NFL now, there is no reason not to see Dalton kick it up another notch and become the inside force the Tar Heels need.

Dalton finishes the season with 65 tackles, seven for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, and four passes deflected.

Home/UNC Football