CHAPEL HILL – If Corey Gaynor is anything, he’s direct.
He doesn’t reveal much, so don’t expect the vault to explode open with his innermost thoughts gushing out. That just isn’t how Gaynor rolls.
But he walks the walk, and the talk he talks is about the next mission. Sometimes, it’s the next lift, the next run, or the next practice. This week, it’s about the next game, which also happens to be Senior Day at North Carolina.
But Gaynor isn’t just any old senior. He’s old, as in 25 years of age, and his path to this point has been unique. Part Covid-effect, and part NCAA’s lightened policies on awarding additional years of eligibility to athletes. Gaynor got seasons six and seven in a college program as a result.
But his time will soon be up, and one can only imagine the swell of emotion he may feel Saturday night before his final home game at Kenan Stadium. The injuries, the injuries again, the transfer, the waiver, and now a final season of snapping the ball to Drake Maye, perhaps the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and also Gaynor's best friend.
That’s a lot to roll through.
“You’ve got to compartmentalize stuff like that. The main task for me is going to be winning the football game, and playing at a high level and helping my guys play at a high level. I’ll be emotional later in life, I think.”
Again, no frills and direct. And Gaynor’s words weren’t player-speak. They are an indication of how deep-rooted he is at the task at hand.
When UNC Coach Mack Brown describes Gaynor, his use of “emotional” doesn’t quite mean the 6-foot-3, 305-pound graduate pours tears of joy and pain down his face. It speaks more to his unbridled intensity, that burn within that is so very apparent spending just a couple of minutes around the Parkland, FL, native.
“Corey’s been such a leader for us, and it’ll be fun to see him out there on Senior Day because he’s made a difference in this program,” Brown said earlier this week. “That says something for a guy who transfers in to make this big an impact at our center position.
“So, we’re really, really proud of him. I love him. I love the way he fights and competes and wants to win. He is emotional with it, he’s aggressive with it, and I just love who he is.”
A 3-star prospect coming out of high school in the class of 2017, Gaynor originally went to Miami. He played in ten games starting once for the Hurricanes as a true freshman. He played in four games the following year, and redshirted after being saddled with an injury.
Gaynor started all 13 contests in 2019 and started all 11 games in 2020. The Hurricanes starting center in 2021, Gaynor’s season ended after he sustained a knee injury in the opener versus Alabama.
Instead of staying at Miami, Gaynor sought a fresh start, landing in Chapel Hill. He started every game last fall, appealed for a waiver since he’d basically missed two seasons in addition to his redshirt year. The NCAA granted his request, and now Gaynor is closing in on the conclusion of a college career that has been rewarding, especially the last two years.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Gaynor said. “I truly believe that coming here was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. Revamped my career. The fresh start was everything, the effect that I’ve had on this building is just second to none.
“I take a lot of pride and am very humbled by it.”
So, about that seven-year path.
Many people would be drenched in emotion, welling up in their eyes, lips perhaps quivering some, and a speeding heart rate when asked to process it. Not Gaynor.
Or, at least he doesn’t show it. Centers can be that way on the field, they must disguise a lot to make everything work. So why not in real life, right? Gaynor’s DNA, however, takes it to another level.
He just won’t budge, and that’s okay. It’s his way, and is has worked.
“We’ve had interviews before where I’ve always (said) it’s about what’s next,” Gaynor said. “I just feel like if I ever get caught looking back I’m not going to see what’s in front of me. There’s going to be a time and a place.
“I’ve had such a long ordeal in college football, there’s going to be a time and place for it, just not right now.”
Gaynor will walk with the other seniors Saturday night. And then he will play a football game against rival Duke. The walking with family is a simple formality, the game, however, fits into Gaynor’s core.
He’s a football player, which he will talk about some from time to time. The rest can wait for later.
