UNC Football position preview: Safety

Our 2018 UNC Football position preview continues as we take a look at the back line of the defense with the safety position

While other units are might be deeper on defense, the safety position for the North Carolina Tar Heels may just have the most talent.

Myles Dorn is entering his junior year with the Tar Heels and is arguably the most talented player on this defense across the board. Dorn leads the safety position into 2018 with some pretty high expectations.

As the last line of defense for UNC, the position is critical in terms of not allowing the big play to beat them. At times last season, UNC’s secondary looked lost on big plays and it cost them. There were more than just a few times of that happening including the Week 1 loss to Cal.

But this year, the safety position could be something special for the Tar Heels.

2017 review

The Charlotte native Dorn started in all 12 games for the Tar Heels in 2017, finishing third on the team with 71 tackles. He had a breakout season and is now considered a legit NFL prospect heading into his third season.

Dorn was a standout for the Tar Heels last year as he had five pass break-ups, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Alongside Dorn at the safety position was junior J.K. Britt who appeared in 12 games and made six starts for the Tar Heels. Britt was inserted into the starting lineup for the final six games of the year and really made an impact.

He finished with 53 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble on the season.

While the safety play was strong, the secondary as a whole struggled to force turnovers. UNC had 53 passes defended on the year but only managed to have seven interceptions.

It was a down year again but there was some valuable experience to be gained on this defense last season.

Depth Chart

Starters: Myles Dorn, J.K. Britt

Backup: Javon Terry, Myles Wolfolk, D.J. Ford, Allen Artis

Reserves: Jesse Cuccia, Drew Homschek

What to expect in 2018

There’s a lot of depth in the secondary for the Tar Heels and arguably two of their best defensive players are Dorn and Britt. The two will be the backline of the defense and will be called upon to have an impact right away.

The two things UNC will need to improve on is limiting the big plays and forcing turnovers.

The Tar Heels struggled in both of those areas in 2017 and it hurt them. As mentioned before, UNC forced just seven takeaways on defense and missed several chances to potentially change things in the game. This season, if UNC wants to be better they will have to take advantage of those situations.

They also can’t give up the big plays.

We saw that right away in 2017 with Cal using big plays to stun the Tar Heels in Week 1. UNC will have the chance to get some revenge this year to start the season, but limiting those big plays will be key.

With another year under both Britt and Dorn’s belt, I’m confident they can help limit those big plays. If they do, it could be a successful season for the defense.

There’s a lot of talent in this secondary but there also could be some struggles early.  While there’s depth, UNC’s secondary is still a little young. Look for Dorn and Britt not only to be anchors but to be leaders as well.

Impact player

Let’s go with Dorn on this one.

I think both Dorn and Britt could be standouts on this defense and have big years. But I’m going to take Dorn just for the fact that I believe he’s the safety with NFL talent on this defense.

Losing Dorn would be a big blow to the Tar Heels defense as he has experience and knows this defense inside and out. It would be tough to replace him if he were lost for any time.

If UNC’s defense does breakout in 2018, Dorn could be a big reason why.