UNC Secondary shuffles back to football field one by one

If there were an elevator that North Carolina’s defense took to the field before a game, it would take forever to get off the floor.

The flood of questions regarding which players have been cleared to play amid the ongoing investigations surrounding the UNC football program has seemingly prevented those doors from ever closing definitively.

Senior linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant stopped the doors from closing to join the lineup just a day before the LSU game.

Against East Carolina, senior safety Da’Norris Searcy slid into the elevator to make his first appearance. Saturday, senior safety Deunta Williams will do the same.

“I was talking to him yesterday,” Searcy said. “I was like, ‘You’re going to be excited. Your muscles and adrenaline are going to be pumping, but once you run up and down the field a couple of times, you’re going to feel the effect of not being out there for a minute.’

“And he just laughed. He was like, ‘I know, I’m ready for it though.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I hope you is.’”

Williams is the second of four would-be returning defensive backs to make his season debut, and with his addition, the secondary is one NFL prospect deeper.

Williams may not start Saturday just as Carter, Sturdivant and Searcy didn’t start in their welcome-back games, but there’s no reason he can’t have an immediate impact. Searcy caught a momentum-shifting interception against ECU, and Carter said Williams has done some of the same in practice.

“He got his first practice in yesterday, and you could tell the direct impact,” Carter said. “He had three interceptions just playing on scout team and stuff like that.”

Although Williams’ return is much anticipated, the secondary has played well without him. North Carolina’s pass defense ranks 21 nationally. And in the second half of games, the defense has excelled.

In three of its four games this season, UNC has allowed three points or fewer in the second half. Whatever confidence the Tar Heels have will only be multiplied with Williams waiting downfield.

“It will always give you confidence when you get your seniors back,” freshman cornerback Mywan Jackson said. “Knowing that we had to go in with all those starters since game one, and now that both of them get a chance to play, that’s a good boost.”

With the return of Searcy and Williams, safeties Matt Merletti and Gene Robinson will see a drop in snaps. The senior and sophomore, respectively, have each played in the first four games this season.

Against ECU, North Carolina employed nickel and dime formations. If UNC uses those defensive formations again, Merletti believes he’ll still see time even with Searcy and Williams back.

“I believe that I will be in that situation, but, again, that’s up to the coaches to decide,” he said. “We’ll put the best players on the field.”

That’s what makes the return of Williams intriguing. He’s one of the top three players the active defense has, which says a lot about its collective talent, as Williams was a preseason third-team all-America selection and a first-team all-ACC preseason selection.

If Williams’ performance in practice or Searcy’s first game is any indication, the senior could have a big return. At least, for Williams, he has a blueprint for making a good comeback in his fellow safety.

“I jumped him a little bit,” Searcy said. “We always sit together at meetings, so I kind of like tapped him on the back and I was like, ‘Uh, are you gonna do something big this game? My turn was last week; it’s your turn this week.’ And he was like, ‘I’ve got a little something for you.’”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.