UNC Football: DeAndre Boykins Out For the 2023 Season

UNC Football loses junior defensive back DeAndre Boykins for the entirety of the 2023 season due to a lower-body injury suffered in the preseason.

The UNC Football program takes a huge blow as Mack Brown announced that starting defensive back DeAndre Boykins has suffered a lower-body injury that will require him to be out for the season.

Boykins started all 14 games during his sophomore season last year, making his first collegiate start in the season opener against Florida A&M. In his debut game, Boykins recorded four tackles and one fumble recovery. During the entirety of the 2022 season, Boykins had 67 total tackles, 48 solo tackles, seven pass breakups, 5.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery. He recorded a career-high seven tackles three times during the season, against Duke, Georgia Tech, and in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon.

He was named ACC Defensive Back of the Week against Miami where he had four tackles, a sack, and an interception in the Tar Heels’ sixth game of the year. Then the following week against Duke, he was once again named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week. He recorded seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, and a quarterback hurry in the Tar Heels’ 38-35 win against the Blue Devils.

Boykins’ injury comes as a blow to the already questionable Tar Heel secondary following last season. As it stands right now Georgia State graduate transfer Antavious Lane is in line to take the starting role at Star. After Lane, it appears true freshman Kaleb Cost will be next on the depth chart, followed by former running back DJ Jones.

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