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CHAPEL HILL – Life as a 5-star recruit once on a college campus comes with a great deal of pressure.

There is the stress of having to perform to mega expectations. There is also a burden of serving as a central figure in the resurgence of a football program that hasn’t scented its true potential in more than two decades.

And there is the weight of streaking through three quick years in college and into the NFL, where fat contracts and financial security await. Only that every athlete’s path is unique, dotted with unforeseen challenges and speed bumps.

When Tony Grimes arrived at the University of North Carolina in August of 2020, instead of playing his senior year at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, VA, he did so as ballyhooed as any UNC commit since at least Elijah Hood in 2014, and maybe since, well since ever.

Grimes was the commit Mack Brown needed to send a salvo to anyone paying attention that he was going to indeed wake up the sleeping giant that is North Carolina football, crushing the snooze button out of existence with every Tony Grimes and blue chipper like him willing to fill the Tar Heels’ increasingly impressive roster.

The wiry, athletic cornerback from The Commonwealth was the key, though. He was the guy. He was the one who would draw comparisons to legendary former Tar Heel and current cornerbacks coach Dre’ Bly. Grimes was the guy.

Now, as he enters his junior season, Grimes is confident, yet humble. He is breathtakingly talented, but still a work in progress. And he is still a key on Carolina’s defense, and with a ton to prove.

“I know I was highly recruited coming in here a 5-star and big name, but I’m just like everybody else,” Grimes recently said in an interview inside the Kenan Football Center. “I’m just, my hunger is different for sure.”

Grimes’ hunger fuels his efforts to fulfill those expectations, but it appears he is no longer concerned with what everyone else thinks about him. His teammates, coaches, and perhaps NFL scouts? Oh yeah.

But that’s it. Hearing the praise and reading the projections for stardom added to the strain of meeting expectations.

“I learned not to feel the pressure,” Grimes said. “When I first got here, I felt pressure for sure. Me feeling pressure, I didn’t think my game went as well as I wanted it to, but no, I feel no pressure. I’m just ready, I gotta get mine.”

Part of the process in getting his required a bit of a transformation.

First, he had to learn how to be a college football player and college student. Then, it was understanding how to manage through each day with so many eyeballs watching. Not just football people, but regular people: fellow students, fans, media, et al.

Grimes learned early on, none of the praise and stares meant anything tangible. His mindset just wouldn’t allow any of that to alter his thinking.

“I don’t think I ever had a big head,” Grimes said. “I think I could have thought some stuff different, but I don’t think I ever had a big head.”

The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has learned to ignore the media, Twitter, Instagram, message boards, and atta boys as he walks between classes. It means nothing to him because his mission is higher.

Grimes is a football player with a potentially fruitful football life in front of him. But it can only be traveled via a debris-laced course. It strengthens the man as well as his resolve. An All-ACC honorable mention performer last season as a sophomore, he was fifth on the Tar Heels with 47 tackles, and his nine PBUs tied him for fifth in the ACC.

In 813 snaps last season, Grimes was credited with 11 STOPs, which are plays that result in failures by the opposing offense. He allowed just a 53.3 pass completion percentage, being targeted in coverage 60 times allowing 32 receptions for 435 yards and three touchdowns. His season grade was a shade under 60.0.

Grimes struggled at times, but also experienced moments that tapped into his impressive potential. Now, the mantra is to regularly have those high-end sequences on the field, and develop into the player that matches the hype and helps the Tar Heels win games.

“My mindset going into year three is I’ve still got to do what God placed on me here to do,” Grimes said. “I’ve still got to play football. I’ve got to get better every day. The corners and the team look up to me, so I’ve got to make sure I do my job. I’ve got to help them in every way possible I can.”

He isn’t thinking about gridiron riches right now, either. It will come if he takes care of business, something Grimes obviously understands. So, don’t expect Grimes to discuss his future. It isn’t on his radar.

“No, not at all,” he said. “What I want to focus on this year is my team and us winning, taking that Coastal. Me and the team, the focus is on winning, proving every day we’re trying to go undefeated.”

If he completes those tasks, make no mistake, Grimes will meet expectations and eventually get his.