UNC vs. TCU: Which Team Brings the Stronger Defense?

Redshirt junior CJ Mims, an ECU transfer, posted 11 run stops and 1.5 sacks last season and can play multiple spots inside. D’Antre Robinson, a Florida transfer, showed promise in 11 games as a true freshman and didn’t miss a tackle. Isaiah Johnson, who arrived post-spring from Arizona, adds strength against the run and posted a 10.2% pressure rate in limited snaps. Redshirt freshman Leroy Jackson will provide depth as well..

Pryce Yates and Smith Vilbert will be a huge plus coming off the edge for the Tar Heels.

Yates is expected to play a major role after racking up 108 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks across three seasons at UConn. Despite missing part of 2024 with an injury, he logged 3.5 sacks in seven games. 

Vilbert, a Penn State transfer, brings veteran presence and playoff experience. After missing 2022 and 2023, he returned in 2024 to post 12 tackles and four TFLs over 339 snaps. Now in his seventh college season, Vilbert is the oldest player on UNC’s defense.

Delaware transfer Melkart Abou-Jaoude provides depth and will bring burst and production after earning All-CAA honors last fall.

Nose guard Markis Deal is a 6-foot-5, 325-pound presence in the middle. He finished last season with 21 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Washington State transfer Ansel Din-Mbuh adds interior pass-rush ability after posting 24 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and six sacks. Watch out for junior college transfers Perry Cole Jr. and Kelten Mickell in the interior as well.

On the edge, Zach Chapman flashed as a freshman in a rotational role, recording 24 tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks. His counterpart, Devean Deal — the older brother of Markis — earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors with 46 tackles and team highs in tackles for loss (9.5) and sacks (5.5) in 2024.

This is a bit of a tossup because both defensive fronts are even in my opinion. However, the edge has to go to North Carolina as I think it has more experience and size. 

EDGE: North Carolina

Linebacker

Both North Carolina and TCU have a base 4-2-5 defense., meaning two linebackers will be roaming from sideline-to-sideline.

For TCU, it returns Namdi Obiazor who has had over 1,900 snaps on his belt over three seasons. Obiazor had a team-high 81 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, an interception, two pass breakups, and 2 pass deflections.

Kaleb Elarms-Orr also has over 1,000 defensive snaps at both Cal and TCU. He has proven to be a proven pass rusher (81.2 PFF pass rush grade in 2024). He had 54 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He finished in sixth on the team in tackles despite not having a single start.  Before he came to Fort Worth, Elarms-Orr had a team-high 92 tackles in 2023 and earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors at Cal.

Khmori House, a Washington transfer who is one of the few underclassmen who will be one of the starters for this defense. In 2024, he recorded 35 tackles and four pass breakups in a rotational role, showcasing speed and versatility as a coverage linebacker and spy.

Redshirt senior Andrew Simpson is the most accomplished of the group, arriving from Boise State with 141 career tackles and 12.5 sacks.

Grad transfer Mikai Gbayor, who recently flipped to Missouri, was a steady presence at Nebraska with 49 tackles and a strong run defense grade in 2024.

I give the slight edge to TCU because of its chemistry from last season, while North Carolina has three new linebackers, including two who transferred after spring camp.

EDGE: TCU

Defensive Backs

TCU’s defensive backfield brings back a strong core from a unit that ranked in the Top 25 nationally against the pass last season. Sixth-year senior safety Bud Clark leads the group and is one of the few holdovers from the Horned Frogs’ 2022 national runner-up team.

Clark posted 67 tackles and a team-high three interceptions in 2024, while fellow safety Jamel Johnson, third on the team with 73 tackles, also returns. 

At cornerback, TCU has depth with Channing Canada, Avery Helm, Austin Jordan and Washington State transfer Elijah Jackson.

North Carolina counters with a secondary led by Washington transfer Dixon, who played under Steve Belichick last season in Seattle and was part of the Huskies’ No. 2 pass defense. Over the past two years, Dixon totaled 69 tackles, two interceptions and 16 pass breakups. Veteran cornerback Marcus Allen also returns after recording 36 tackles and two interceptions in 2024.

Safeties Kaleb Cost and Gavin Gibson bring versatility, capable of lining up across multiple spots. Cost started all 13 games last year, finishing with 69 tackles and two interceptions. Gibson, an ECU transfer, added 52 tackles, three interceptions and a pick-six. Will Hardy rounds out the group, stepping into a full-time role at free safety.

I think these two groups are the strengths of both defenses. I lean toward North Carolina because it is slightly more experienced and returns more starters from last season, giving it better chemistry. The edge, however, is not by much.

EDGE: North Carolina

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