CHAPEL HILL - Less than a week before North Carolina’s 2019 season opener against South Carolina, freshman safety Cam Kelly still wasn’t sure if he would be able to suit up.

Four days before the game, Kelly, who had transferred from Auburn last April after enrolling early in January, was finally granted a waiver by the NCAA to play. It was a decision he, his family and his coaches had waited on for months.

“I was waiting for the news the whole summer,” Kelly recently said. “It was a long, tedious process, but the coaches stayed by me and we got it done.”

Fast forward nearly 365 days and it has been a year the Chesapeake, VA, native will never forget.

After being cleared, Kelly appeared in UNC’s first five games making his first collegiate start in a 21-20 loss to No. 3 Clemson. Unfortunately for Kelly, it was against the Tigers where adversity struck yet again.

He tore his ACL in the fourth quarter after his knee collided with teammate Aaron Crawford’s helmet. Just five weeks and 51 snaps after he had finally been cleared to play, Kelly’s season was officially over.

“It was very emotional when that happened,” Kelly said. “(It) definitely wasn’t my plan for this season, but everything happens for a reason, so it definitely made me reflect on everything I’ve been through.”

Now a sophomore, Kelly was finally cleared to play again in late July after nearly 10 months of recovery, capping off what has been an adversity-filled year. Despite the struggles, Kelly has learned a lot along the way and is using those lessons as motivation.

“It was a humbling experience…,” he said. “When I tore my ACL, I just looked back at all the hard work, the tedious process it was to even get cleared. All the time I put in with the boys, all the off days I put in with the guys, too. It just made me love the game even more.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of Kelly’s rehab was done back home in Virginia. This certainly escalated the challenge, but true to his nature, Kelly took it head on and made it work.

“Our training staff here always FaceTimed me and made sure I was doing what I was doing,” Kelly said. “Plus, my trainer back at home, he’s a rehabilitation specialist. He helped me a lot.”

Another positive for Kelly is the new NCAA rule, in response to COVID-19, that grants an extra year of eligibility to all fall sports athletes. This means Kelly regains the year he ultimately lost last season after his injury, something that excites Brown in particular.

Finally, healthy again, Kelly is now in his second preseason as a Tar Heel and is vying for playing time in what is one of the deepest secondaries the program has ever had. UNC Coach Mack Brown is proud of how Kelly has handled himself over the last year and is excited to see how he continues to develop as he gets more comfortable on the field.

“He looks really good,” Brown said. “I think he and Patrice (Rene) will look better everyday moving forward when they get more confidence in their knee. Emotionally and mentally, you’ve got to be able to have confidence that, when you plant that knee or you hit somebody, it’s not gonna give out on you.”

A year full of obstacles, misfortunes and hardships hasn’t stopped Kelly’s determination to make a name for himself in Chapel Hill. It’s fueled his fire instead and given him a new appreciation for the game he loves.

“I never really had a significant injury like that, but just bouncing back from that makes me feel like I can do anything now,” Kelly said. “Being able to get through that just made me stronger and have a stronger will as a player. I’m just glad to be back.”