Greg Smith III didn’t score any points for UNC in the Tar Heels’ 24-20 win at Duke, but he might have saved a few. Twice in the red zone, the safety delivered stop-you-right-there plays that kept the Blue Devils out of the end zone and showed why UNC keeps leaning on him in high-pressure spots.
The first came midway through the second quarter, when Duke had a fourth-and-1 at the UNC 2-yard line and handed it to CJ Campbell. Campbell looked like he had a lane, but Smith met him in space and brought him down immediately. It was a clean, precise tackle at the exact moment UNC needed one.
Smith wasn’t done there. In the third quarter, Duke worked back inside the 5 and tried to get Jeremiah Hasley involved again, only for Smith to stay glued to him through the route.
Hasley was motioned from the slot to an in-line alignment before running a crossing route on a play-action call, and Smith tracked him stride for stride before getting a hand in at the right time to knock the ball away - almost into his own arms. Hasley entered the game with 19 catches for 234 yards and finished with just two receptions for 16 yards against the Tar Heels.
Those two plays fit the bigger picture for UNC’s defense, which has been especially tough in the red zone. Opponents are scoring touchdowns on just 42.11% of their trips there, the 10th-best mark nationally. And they also made it clear why Pro Football Focus rates Smith as the nation’s top safety.
“He's big enough to play in the box. He can cover tight ends and cover receivers," Belichick said.
"He has great deep-field range, and he's a good, strong tackler. He's done a great job, and he just keeps getting better and better."
Smith’s value goes beyond those highlight stops. He has been part of five of UNC’s eight forced turnovers this season, with three interceptions and two forced fumbles, and his feel for the game keeps showing up. That’s not exactly a surprise for someone who spent his high school years at quarterback.
His first interception of the season, a diving grab in the home opener against East Tennessee State, came after he made a pre-snap adjustment that put him in position to make the play. After that game, Belichick called it "a good check that he made to get into that position and made a nice play on the ball."
Smith said his quarterback background still helps him now, even if the college version of the position is a different animal. He pointed to the way quarterbacks can reveal things without meaning to, and said film study has sharpened his game and sped everything up.
"Watching film helped my game elevate," Smith said. "It helped me play faster. And also the scout team throughout practice giving me that look in the game."
He also credited the daily details he gets from the coaching staff.
"It's really like the small details and tips" he said.
Smith’s path to becoming one of UNC’s most impactful defenders hasn’t exactly been instant. He played one season at Florida before arriving in Chapel Hill, and he didn’t make his first collegiate start until UNC’s 10th game last season. But he and fellow breakout Xavier Lewis embraced a third-down role in 2025 and kept pushing it forward.
"Coach gave us that opportunity for that third down package," Smith said. "So, we took advantage of it every week in practice. We were like 'Come on, let's keep pushing each other.'"
For Smith, the rise has been built on patience and steady progress.
"Once I came in, it was just about getting better and stacking days," Smith said. "I knew there were guys in front of me that were older, so I just learned from them and knew that my time was going to come eventually."
In Other News...
UNC Just Landed A Huge Stage To Prove This Run Is Real
The Tar Heels win over Duke gave Bill Belichicks team a useful checkpoint in a season that now sits at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. After a 4-8 debut year under Belichick, North Carolina has at least put itself in position to make this fall feel different, and the schedule is lining up to show whether the progress is real or just a good first half.
Next comes Syracuse at home, then the kind of spotlight game that can shape how the rest of the season is judged: a primetime date with the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes on October 31. For a team trying to prove it has moved beyond simply being competitive, the coming stretch offers a chance to measure itself against a ranked opponent and see whether the momentum from the Duke win can carry onto a bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]
Belichick Keeps Pushing One UNC Identity Fans Are Starting To See
Bill Belichick keeps steering the conversation back to the same place: preparation. Asked about the meaning of the term Belichickian, the phrase many commentators use for disciplined, physical, detail-oriented football, he didnt try to brand it himself. Instead, he framed the job in practical terms, stressing the need to be ready for every possible game situation and to build habits that hold up once the pressure rises.
For North Carolina, that message fits the way close games can play out in the ACC, where small details tend to decide plenty of Saturdays. Belichick also pointed to preparation and execution as the real focus, rather than the venue or the surrounding noise, which is a useful marker for a program still defining what its identity under him will look like. Fans are beginning to see the outline, even if the full picture is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Keeps Winning Tight Games In A Very Belichick Way
North Carolina has been living on the edge lately, and it keeps finding a way to step back from it. The Tar Heels followed up their second straight road ACC win with another tight finish against Duke, using a fourth-quarter comeback and a defensive stop to move to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. It was the kind of game that fits the bigger trend around this team: close, tense, and decided by execution late.
Bill Belichick has made no secret of how much he values situational football, and his weekly press conference sounded like the same message the Tar Heels have been trying to carry into these games. UNC has now won three one-score games this season, matching its total from Belichicks first season, and that is the sort of record that changes how a team is viewed in October. The question now is whether that late-game edge is becoming a habit or just a very narrow escape repeated often enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]