Top UNC Football players for 2017: No. 9 Donnie Miles
Keeping It Heel continues its countdown of the top 25 players on the North Carolina Tar Heels roster with player No. 9
#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 | #10 Jalen Dalton
Keeping It Heel is going to continue to count down 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 nine weeks and it will be here before we know it.
NBA free agency was boring at best. Plus, when the MLB All-Star game is the highlight of the month then you know 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. 9, a senior safety who is looking to be the backbone of the Tar Heel defense.
Position: Strong Safety
Hometown: Miami, Florida
High School: North Gwinnett (Ga)
Last Season: Miles had a big year finishing with 102 tackles which were third on the team in 2016 for the Tar Heels. He also had three tackles for loss, two passes defended, and a fumble recovery.
Playing in all 13 games, Miles best game came in the win against Florida State. In that game, Miles finished with 11 tackles to help the Tar Heels pull off the upset.
Why he might move up this list: Miles is the senior and the main go-to guy at the strong safety position.
Though there is some young talent below him, there is no reason Miles shouldn’t see the majority of the snaps once again this season.
Why he might move down this list: Like a lot of upper classmen on this list, there is really no reason Miles should falter barring some unforeseen injury.
The only knock is that he had fewer tackles as a junior than he did as a sophomore. However, that could have more to do with scheme and the fact that the front seven was doing their job better.
Prediction: Miles should continue to be the backbone of this defense. Similar to what Kam Chancellor brings to the Seattle Seahawks, that should be Miles for UNC.
Miles comes up big this year finishing with 115 tackles, 10 for loss, seven passes deflected, and three interceptions.