CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina’s secondary had an infusion of youth on display in its 21-20 loss to Clemson on Saturday.

With junior safety Myles Wolfolk out after injuring his right leg against Appalachian State, true freshman Cam’Ron Kelly got his first start of the season and played 45 snaps before he was injured in the fourth quarter. Prior to Saturday, Kelly had played on special teams and amassed only seven snaps on defense through UNC’s opening four games.

Along with Kelly, true freshman Storm Duck started the first game of his career at cornerback, getting the nod ahead of junior Greg Ross. Duck went on to play 61 snaps and finished as the Tar Heels’ second leading tackler with six, five of which were solo tackles.

Despite the outcome, UNC head coach Mack Brown was impressed with Kelly’s and Duck’s performances in their debut starts.

“Our guys did a really good job of showing one thing and playing another, especially as young as we were in that secondary,” Brown said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Two true freshmen back there, I thought our guys did an amazing job.”

Don Chapman, a true freshman out of San Diego, CA, also saw his first action of the season at safety, having only participated on special teams up until the Clemson game. Chapman played a total of 16 snaps finishing with three tackles.

While Kelly’s start and Chapman’s playing time mainly due to Wolfolk’s absence, Duck’s was not as Ross, who was listed above him on the depth chart, was healthy and available. The staff has said many times before how good they think the Boiling Springs, SC, native can be in the future, but the decision to start Duck against the No. 1 team in the nation shows how confident they already are in his abilities now.

“He played against App State a good amount and we just felt like, after that game, he’s playing at a level where he deserves to play more,” defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said Monday. “So, we started him and he played really well and we rolled with it.”

Kelly was another standout performer for the Tar Heels on Saturday, with his physicality standing out the most, while Chapman also played well. Having senior leader Myles Dorn back there at the other safety spot certainly made their transitions easier, but the pair still had to go out and perform against some of the best receivers in the nation.

For Brown, starting two true freshmen and playing another more than ever before was not simply down to necessity. It was earned.

“We’re going to play the best athletes that are giving us the best effort at practice, we don’t care about age,” Brown said.

How Kelly, Duck and Chapman continue to develop going into the second half of the season remains to be seen but, if their performances against the Tigers are any indication, the future is bright for the Tar Heels’ secondary.