CHARLOTTE - Last year was a challenge on and off the field for Myles Dorn.

Not only did the North Carolina safety play through a knee injury all season that he picked up in the first game against California, he lost both his grandfathers, too.

For many, dealing with that level of adversity all while trying to be the best student-athlete and teammate you can would be quite the challenge for a college junior. But, as the old saying goes, “pain builds character,” and it certainly did for Dorn.

“Honestly, that’s probably the toughest thing I’ve been through just this past year,” Dorn said last Thursday at the ACC Kickoff. “Just being in that place was bad but it helped me at the same time.”

The adversity didn’t stop there.

Dorn dealt with another knee injury during the spring that limited his reps at the start of spring practice. After a few weeks of non-contact, he had surgery in early April that kept him out until mid-June when he was finally cleared to play again.

Not being able to play the sport he loves for a prolonged period of time was understandably tough for Dorn. But, just as he did that previous fall, he made the best out of a tough situation and used it as motivation to get back on the field.

“When you’re an athlete, your body is what people praise you for,” he said. “It’s what you need to do what you do and when that’s gone, your sense of who you are leaves and you feel forgotten.

“But, just knowing that you’re going to return better than you came when nobody else really understands what you’ve been through to get back where you were because, with sports, it’s next man up.”

Now that he’s back feeling 100 percent, Dorn is using the next 10 days before fall camp begins on Aug. 2 to get as many reps in with the new scheme as he can. He’s been the signal caller on the defense since he was a sophomore and, now as a senior, his leadership on the field will be that much more important to the Tar Heels.

While Dorn enjoys his role as a leader, though he admits it’s difficult at times. Given the obstacles he’s faced over the past 12 months, however, the challenge of leading a football team seems miniscule in comparison.

“When you get older, people start to look up to you,” Dorn said. “So, just being able to do the right things all the time knowing that people are looking at you, being able to tell people what they need to hear and not necessarily what they want to hear (is tough).”

With the injuries and pain of dealing with both his grandfathers’ deaths behind him, Dorn is now focused on getting the football program back to where it belongs. He wants to be remembered for starting the rebuild in Chapel Hill and has high expectations for his last go around as a Tar Heel.

“I’m trying to win all 12,” Dorn said with a smile. “Until we drop one, I’m trying to win all of them. That’s the expectation.”

Regardless of how 2019 goes for him on the football field, Dorn has already undoubtedly proven one thing: He’s tough.