CHAPEL HILL – Tomari Fox is wise beyond his years.

A fifth-year defensive lineman at North Carolina, Fox is thoughtful, articulate, and speaks with a degree of wisdom not typical of college football players.

Part of it are his innate gifts, and part of it comes experience dealing with frustration, stress, disillusion, questions about his integrity, and fighting through coming out on the other side with perspective his ordeal could fuel.

Fox learned not long before UNC’s game versus South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in December 2021 that he failed an NCAA drug test and was suspended, not just for the game, but an entire year. He appealed and was rejected.

He consumed an energy drink that had an unapproved workout-enhancing substance, hence the failed test and suspension.

Time served, Fox, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound nose tackle, was back on the field when the Tar Heels met the Gamecocks again to open this season. It also happened to be the site of his devastating news some 20 months earlier.

Now, Fox is on the field every Saturday after working on Carolina’s scout team a year ago. He's back to normal.

“It makes me appreciate it a lot,” he said. “When they say you come out here and you get to do it you don’t have to do it, that’s a real statement. I was definitely out here last year in a navy blue jersey on scout team, and that didn’t feel great, especially being a guy who had never been on scout tea before.

“It was a humbling experience. So knowing now that the work I put in is I have the opportunity to showcase, and I’m very appreciative of that… I’m just thankful to have the opportunity to show people what we’ve been building here and what I’ve been doing.”

Before Fox could impart his knowledge onto teammates, he first needed to come to terms with his situation and all he had been through.

Part of cutting the cord to that period in Fox’s life included him donning a new number this season. Long gone is the 56 he previously wore, and stitched onto his jersey now is number 0.

“Honestly, we tried the appeal, and after everything happened, we looked into a whole bunch of different options, kind of similar to Tez (Walker) in a way,” Fox said, taking a long and detailed road to explain why the change was made. “It just didn’t shape out that way. So, going throughout the year, I kept up and kept up and wasn’t able to come back early.

“So, I knew after that what that did to my reputation a little bit; what that did to who I was as a person, so I was mad, (and) it felt like 56 is dead. I felt like I needed to come back and it’s something different, because I’m really starting from ground zero.”

Unfortunately, Fox’s experience came in handy with respect to UNC wide receiver Tez Walker, a Kent State transfer who has repeatedly had eligibility appeals denied by the NCAA.

Walker’s case has been much more public than was Fox’s, and while the banned substance Fox ingested was unknown to him at the time, his circumstance was far different than Walker’s. Yet, the two young men now share similar experiences, which they have discussed. This is where Fox has served his first-year teammate in a manner no other Tar Heel could.

“We actually talked pretty recently about the whole situation,” Fox said. “I told him I had just went through the same thing. He was expressing to me how he felt about the situation, his thoughts. I was in the same position, ‘Do I want to come out this year, do I want to not now?’”

Fox offered his advice, which was for Walker to take his time and “be you because all those things will weigh you down. I know it did for me.”

Fox did that, and is now again a regular on Carolina’s deep defensive line rotation. He has played 108 snaps this season with four tackles, 2 TFLs and a sack.

In his career, which began in 2019, Fox played 1,172 snaps. By season: 2019- 255 snaps, 69.8 grade; 2020- 598 snaps, 54.1 grade; 2021- 302 snaps, 65.2 grade.

In addition, Fox may have used a chip to show everyone his strength, which has been legendary throughout the Kenan Football Center since his freshman year, was always who he truly is. Is he stronger right now than he’s ever been at Carolina?

“I think I’m tapping into my grown-man’s strength, yeah,” Fox said, smiling. “It’s very hard for me to lose things physically, you know what I mean? I would say I’m the strongest I’ve ever been.”

Stronger than ever and wiser forever, Fox is an integral piece to the Tar Heels on and off the field.