CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina ranked near the bottom of Power 5 teams in total defense last season, allowing 416 yards per game.
Following the team's bowl loss to South Carolina, UNC coach Mack Brown decided to part ways with former defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and hired Gene Chizik, who won a national championship as a head coach at Auburn in 2010 and a defensive coordinator with Brown at Texas.
When a team brings in a new coordinator, a switch in the scheme and a restart to position battles can provide jolts of confidence to players that were previously lower on the depth chart.
A Tar Heel taking advantage of the newest coaching swap is redshirt freshman Dontavius Nash.
A 6-foot-1, 172-pound safety, Nash came to UNC as a highly touted 4-star prospect. He was the first member of Carolina's 2021 recruiting class, ranked 15th by Rivals. The Gastonia, NC, native had a reputation as a hard-hose-hitting safety at Hunter Huss High School but, like many first-year college football players, had a dose of reality once he stepped on campus in Chapel Hill.
"These guys are bigger, faster, stronger,” said Nash. "So, I had to get used to everything. Coming from high school, I was probably one of the biggest hitters in my conference.
"Coming up here, now you got guys who are bigger, on the offensive side of the ball. Running backs that are 230-plus and I wasn't used to seeing that."
The adjustment from high school to college can be daunting for a college football player. The task gets even more complicated when the fact that Nash and other members of his recruiting class missed their senior year football due to the season being postponed to spring because of COVID 19.
Like many other elite high school football players at the time, Nash decided to forgo his senior season and get to his college campus early. However, while coming to college early may help with the off-the-field stuff, a lost year of football is hard to make up.
"I've learned a lot of football in this (past) year," he said. “I took a year off in high school. I didn't play because of the COVID year, so that put me back a little bit."
Now that Nash, who only played 25 snaps last season, has been in Chapel Hill for more than a year, everything has slowed down. And the rash of injuries in the Tar Heels’ secondary allowed Nash to get more reps, of which he took advantage more solidifying his chances at getting into the rotation this fall.
With collegiate athletes usually only getting four years to participate in their sport, players quickly go from rookies to been-there-done-that guys. And according to Nash, the most significant difference between the two is confidence.
"Last year I didn't have a lot of confidence," he explained. "I would go out there nervous. Honestly, half the time I was scared just because guys are faster and I wasn't used to that. Now I'm way more confident. I feel like I am prepared more throughout the offseason, fixed all my weaknesses that I had last season, and I feel like that helped me become better."
Nash's story of a Tar Heel who could impact the college field for the first time is similar to some of his teammates. And with Nash beaming with confidence and having an opportunity, plus he’s also a year older and wiser, he senses a breakout season could be coming.
