Healthy and All Caught Up, Lane is Ready to Roll
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina defensive back Antavious “Stick” Lane’s first season with the Tar Heels went different than he imagined.
After spending four seasons at Georgia State, Lane transferred to Chapel Hill for his final two years of eligibility. During his time with the Panthers, he appeared in 37 games, recording 226 tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, and 11 interceptions.
The three-time All-Sun Belt performer holds the Georgia State record for career interceptions (11), the single-season record for interceptions (11), and is the only Panther in program history to return two interceptions for a touchdown.
With a decorated resume, Lane hoped to make an immediate impact on the North Carolina defense, but a preseason hamstring injury hampered his progress and comfort.
He missed the first two games of the season against South Carolina and App State. On top of being a summer enrollee at UNC, Lane had plenty of ground to make up.
“I felt like I was behind. I was trying to catch up [during] the season and I just couldn’t get to that point,” said Lane. “As far as early on in the season, the ball was rolling and I had to catch up.”
As he transitioned to the ACC and Power 5 football, Lane believed in his talent and ability, but it was the lack of confidence in the playbook due to the injury that contributed to his slower progress.
“It was just [a lack of] confidence in the playbook that first year. It wasn’t all there because I got here in the fall and I got hurt as soon I got up here,” said Lane. “I kind of missed those reps. I was getting the mental reps but sometimes you gotta get those actual reps to grasp the right information and the stuff that you need.”
Despite the roadblock to begin his UNC career, Lane appeared in 11 games in 2023, tallying 62 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and one forced fumble. His 409 snaps logged were the fewest since his true freshman season at Georgia State, where he appeared in just four games before redshirting.
His PFF grade of 73.8 ranked first among the Tar Heels’ secondary and his run defense grade of 82.0 put him at second on the roster.
He pointed to UNC’s matchup against Clemson, its 11th game of the season, as the closest he felt to being caught up. While the loss to the Tigers served as the first of three straight losses to end the season for the Tar Heels, it was also a turning point for Lane.
It marked the first of three starts on the year, as Lane would cement himself into the lineup for the season finale against NC State and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia.
Fast forward to today and Lane’s comfort and confidence have only grown with spring practice under his belt.
“[Last year], it was just moving too fast and sometimes I’d overthink and slip up,” said Lane. “This year, I feel like I’m a lot more focused, a lot more locked in, and I’m a lot more vocal.”
Lane has established himself as a starter at safety and adjusted quickly to new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who Lane believes is setting UNC up for success.
“He does a great job with the coverages and making us disguise certain coverages. And it’s really basic for us, he’s making it basic for us and harder for the offense, basically,” said Lane. “When a quarterback sees us, he’s going to see us disguising. It’s going to look like something that it’s really not. It’s an illusion, basically.”
As Collins’ illusions hope to confuse opposing offenses, he’s made it clear to Lane and the rest of the defense that there is no illusion when it comes to their style of play. The Tar Heels are going to bring back the tenacity.
“He’s not going to sit back and let an offense dictate the game. He’s going to come in and you’re going to have to work for everything you get,” said Lane. “We’re just going to be a nasty, hard-nosed defense this year.”
That hard-nosed defense was made for Lane, whose nickname of Stick is short for the term ‘hitstick.’ When Lane arrived at Georgia State, a new chapter also called for a new Instagram handle, changing his name to tae_da_hitstick.
During his freshman season with the Panthers, his teammates adopted the term ‘hitstick’ from his username, which was quickly shortened to ‘Stick,’ a name that has stuck in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina Coach Mack Brown believes the name applies to Lane’s nature and style of play and was a big reason for it catching on with the Tar Heels.
Brown also noted Lane’s growth as he prepares for his first full season at UNC.
"Stick Lane has stepped up,” said Brown. “He’s been playing really well.”
Lane will begin his final season of eligibility on Aug. 29, when North Carolina travels to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers.