CHAPEL HILL – In the end, it really doesn’t matter to Don Chapman where he lines up on the football field, just as long as he is on the field.
Free safety, bandit, cornerback, nickel, it truly is not an issue with the California native. Just put him on the gridiron and let him play.
So, when North Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman asked Chapman to take some reps last year at corner, no problem. Actually, all of UNC’s defensive backs work out at corner some to enhance their coverage skills, and the staff is always looking to see who can do what to best enhance the unit. Multiplicity carries great value.
Chapman has seen action at corner but has mostly been a safety for the Tar Heels, both free and bandit. Late in spring practice, however, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior was moved to nickelback to get some serious reps and see how things might go. Naturally, Chapman is a football player, so it went just fine because it's football.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Chapman said, not long after the move. “I’m just trying to get on the field and make plays.”
Making plays is something the San Diego native has done quite often the last two seasons. He played in all 13 games, starting four times, as a freshman in 2019 and last season started all 11 contests in which he appeared.
In 648 snaps last fall and winter, Chapman recorded 48 tackles, good for fourth on the team. Four went for a loss of yardage, including two sacks. He also intercepted a pass, had two PBUs and three QB hurries.
In all, Chapman has played 950 defensive snaps as a Tar Heel with three interceptions to his credit.
Now, he could end up immersing himself in an entirely new position from what he has played so far in actual games. He understands nickel, but there are elements to it that are much different from his responsibilities in the back of Carolina’s defense.
“I know it, I know the playbook, because at free safety you’ve got to tell the nickel what to do a lot,” Chapman said. “So, it's kind of the same thing, but I guess my biggest thing right now is just learning blitzes. I'm not used to blitzing as much and the nickel blitzes quite a few times.”
The movement in the secondary has not been relegated to Chapman diving into the nickel role. Trey Morrison, perhaps the quintessential jack of all trades in recent years, has started games at nickel, corner, and safety. He was a corner as a true freshman in 2018, a nickel in 2019, and last season moved to safety after Myles Wolfolk was ruled academically ineligible. That moved true freshman Ja’Qurious Conley into his spot at nickel.
Morrison continues to rotate back and forth between safety and nickel, as some others in the secondary are also moving around. It is a versatile group, Chapman says, also acknowledging the constant shuffling makes it uncertain identifying who is where in the pecking order in each spot.
“I’m not really sure what the depth chart is, but we’ve all been taking reps in different spots and just trying to get a feel,” he said. “I think they moved JQ (Conley) back to bandit, but he’ll probably still play nickel some.
“Cam’s (Kelly) there, Gio (Biggers) plays a little bit of free, but Gio knows bandit, too. We’re just trying to see what’s the best fit for us right now, and the coaches will figure that one out.”
And when the staff makes final decisions leading to the opener at Virginia Tech, Chapman will be somewhere, likely in the starting lineup. Whether at safety or nickel won’t really make a difference to him, because all Chapman wants to do is get on the field and help the Heels win.
