As the North Carolina football team walked off the field following Thursday’s practice, safeties Tim Scott and Dominique Green remained side by side as they approached the sideline, stripped their pads and placed them next to each other.
The two close friends who anchor the defensive backfield for the Tar Heels strongly contrast in their styles of play. But it’s that difference and their close relationship that make them complementary.
“Me and Green are just two funny guys outside of football. Our personalities are really similar,” Scott said. “So within the football field, we really communicate well together, and we just try to continue that.”
Scott is entering his first season at the position after playing cornerback the past three years. He said the transition to safety was burdensome during the spring, but Green’s help has made the change seamless.
“He’s just been really helping me with the techniques,” Scott said. “Both safeties run the same techniques, just in different defenses. But as long as I know my technique, that’ll help me, which he’s really taught me.”
Green, who joined the team as a walk-on, started all 13 games for UNC last season as a true freshman, and his attacking style of play resulted in him finishing sixth on the team in tackles with 59 and with a scholarship under his belt.
But even after establishing himself as a crucial fixture on the UNC defense, Coach Larry Fedora said Greene has returned to practice this fall competing at an even higher level.
“He’s the guy right there. He’s the guy that’s brought the energy every single day,” Fedora said. “I mean, he enjoys playing. His confidence level is so much higher than it was last year at this time. It’s like two different people actually. Now he’s not afraid to make a play, or if he makes a mistake, he knows he’s okay — he can get it corrected.”
But experience isn’t the only factor boosting Greene’s confidence. With Scott switching to safety, he brings discipline in coverage to the back of the secondary.
