Kaleb Cost, Jr., DB 5-foot-10.5, 185 pounds

Tracking it down is something Kalebn Cost has done his whole life. Be it a football or a baseball, he’s had a beat on it most of the time.

Touchdown. Interception. Can of corn. Robbing a dinger.

But being a dual-sport athlete at North Carolina, while a pretty darn cool experience, had its drawbacks for Cost. And it mainly showed up last football season.

He only took part in a few spring practices in 2024 because he was on Carolina’s baseball team that advanced to the College World Series. He also got hurt playing baseball, which limited him at the start of fall camp in football.

Yet, Cost earned the starting star spot, which is basically a nickel back, even though he was quite green there. Opponents new, too, and picked on him. First Minnesota and then Charlotte. But in Carolina’s third game, a 45-10 home win over North Carolina Central, Cost made a play. A big play.

He tracked the ball, hunted it down, and grabbed an interception letting out a massive exhale while simultaneously pumping in a heavy dose of confidence.

“It felt great. I mean just all the work I put in in the offseason,” Cost after the game. “It felt amazing, especially just all the adversity I’ve been going through the past couple of games.”

Adversity and a learning curve are to be expected for the first-year starter, especially with how limited he was in football. But Carolina’s coaching staff knew he was the guy for the job all along and showed patience, allowing him to grow into it.

“They know my capabilities, my ball skills, my technique itself,” he said. “They know I can cover guys,”

The new coaching staff likely sees the same thing, but they had the benefit of getting a first glimpse of Cost after a season of starting experience. And, he has the benefit of new eyeballs, new technique and coaching, and the brain trust of Bill Belichick and his staff.

Cost is no longer green and he no longer plays baseball at Carolina. The full devotion moved to football and he didn’t miss any spring practice. Thus, he’s way ahead of where he was last season.

As we are doing all spring and summer, here is a dive into Cost’s numbers:

2024 Stats:

*13 games, 836 snaps, 63 tackles, 13 missed tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 hurry, 19 STOPs (plays that result in failures by the opposing offense), 6 PBUs, 1 INT, 70 targets allowing 48 receptions for 592 yards and 5 TDs.

Career Stats:

*26 games, 908 snaps, 68 tackles, 14 missed tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 2 hurries, 22 STOPs, 2 INTs, 8 PBUs, 77 targets allowing 52 receptions for 633 yards and 5 TDs.

2025 Outlook:

Cost is a probable starter on defense though exactly in what capacity is hard to figure since very little is known about the scheme Carolina will run with the new staff. He’s experienced, has big-play potential, learned well on the job last season, and with just football under his belt should continue making major strides.