CHAPEL HILL – With North Carolina more than a week into fall camp, the Tar Heels have fully settled into their routine preparing for a season they enter with high personal expectations.

Among the reasons the Tar Heels believe they will be improved is better depth on defense, more overall experience in the secondary, and the team is largely healthy on that side of the ball.

In this edition of This, That & the Other, we look at some aspects of this, including that Des Evans not focusing much on his t-shirt business right now is a good thing for Mack Brown’s team.

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Kaimon Rucker has been one of UNC’s best defensive players for a couple of years, and made an immediate impact in his career, playing 24 snaps in a win over Syracuse in 2020 season-opener when he was a true freshman.

Rucker moved to jack in the middle of last season after Noah Taylor was lost for the season with an injury. He remains at jack, but was joined in the offseason by former Florida State outside linebacker Amari Gainer, who could be one of UNC’s best defenders this fall.

So, two of the team’s best players occupying the same position, which usually has just one spot on the field, means Rucker or Gainer will always be on the bench? Or might there be packages in which two jacks are on the field at the same time?

“One of the plays has both of us on the field at the same time,” Rucker said. “That’s just two weapons on the field at the same time. When you have that, it’s an unfair advantage (against) any offense.”

Rucker added: “I’m proud I get to play alongside Amari. He’s made tremendous strides in his own right, and I’m glad (when) we’re both on the field at the same time, because it’s going to be hard to get past us.”

Carolina lost some defensive backs that played a lot last year, but the Tar Heels managed to get much older through the portal. Carolina brought in three college graduates in Armani Chatman, Stick Lane, and Derrik Allen, during the season will be 24, 22, and 23 years of age, respectively. UNC also brought in FCS All-America Aljjah Huzzie, who will be 22 during the season.

Also, they joined a room that includes graduate Gio Biggers, who is 22, Don Chapman (22), and Lejond Covazos, who will be 22 during the season. Note: Covazos recently suffered a lower body injury and will have surgery. No time table as to how long he will be out.

Combined, those seven players have logged 10,246 career defensive snaps. UNC also has three relatively young DBs that are experienced and each of whom started the final three games last season: DeAndre Boykins (971 career defensive snaps); Will Hardy 327 as a true freshman last fall); and Marcus Allen (175 as a true freshman last fall.)

Biggers says being older in the secondary is a big plus for the Heels.

“My freshman year, we had Myles Dorn, D.J. Ford, Myles Wolfolk,” graduate safety Gio Biggers said. “But then we had guys under were me, Don (Chapman), cam Kelly; we were all freshmen who weren’t really as understanding of what to do as those guys.

“Now, we’ve got me, Will Hardy, Don Chapman, Derrik Allen Stick Lane. We’ve got a lot of guys that are here and can all play right now.”

Des Evans went down for the season during UNC’s ninth game last fall, and wasn’t given a full-go for activity until May, so he had plenty of down time on his hands during that period. So, in addition to thinking about life, Evans dove into a little side business he created, with a little help from his dad.

“I would say my brand, building my clothing brand,” he said, when asked what else occupied his time. “Just focusing on that.”

More about enhancing the brand?

“Get a web site, price some designs,” he said.

Evans started the brand a couple of years ago when NIL became a thing, but started it taking it more seriously over the last year. He wants to use the brand, called Unknown, “to inspire people.” One of the posters reads:

“If you want something that you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.”

Explanation: “That’s unknown because a lot of people don’t what they really said they were going to do.”

Evans’ father has helped him with some slogan ideas, and he promises that his dad will get a cut from whatever they make.

“Of course, he’s my dad.”