Storm Duck impressing North Carolina defensive backs coach Dre Bly

Dre Bly played three seasons at North Carolina as a defensive back. He then spent 11 years in the NFL. Now, Bly is back with his alma mater as a defensive backs coach under head coach Mack Brown. Bly is very high on third-year UNC sophomore Storm Duck.

Duck is one of the ACC’s top corners when healthy

As a freshman in 2019, Duck totaled 37 total tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and seven passes defended across 13 games. In just two games last season, Duck has four tackles and two passes defended. He then suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the season. Despite this, Bly believes that Duck is one of the best corners in the conference for UNC. As he returns, Duck looks just as strong despite last year’s injury.

“Storm is where he needs to be,” Bly said of Duck’s return to UNC. “Injuries are part of the game. Storm’s mind is in a different place, Storm played a lot of football his first year. To see him transition from him as a freshman to last year when he got injured, because I feel like last year when he got injured, there wasn’t a better cornerback in the ACC in my eyes. He was playing really, really well. And to us, he was a guy that we felt like could take away a side of a field. But that didn’t come because of his skill set, that came because of where he was mentally.

“The knowledge that he had gained through being a starter his first year, he didn’t lose that. As of a matter of fact, he might have gotten even better. Because during the time when he didn’t play, he was in every meeting, he was getting better every day mentally as well. So, right now, Storm, he was here in the spring and participated and he picked up right where he left off. I expect Storm to do what he did and be the same guy he was before he went away with injury. I’m excited to have him with the rest of the guys. Like I said, I feel like where I am right now at that position, I’m a lucky coach.”

In his first season on UNC’s coaching staff, Bly helped the Tar Heels become one of the nation’s most improved defensive teams. Despite losing Duck after two games last year, Bly led UNC to another highly productive defensive season.

Bly sees similarities in Duck’s game

In 1996, Bly was the first player in college football history to earn consensus first-team All-American honors as a defensive freshman. He led the country with 11 regular season interceptions, adding two more in North Carolina’s Gator Bowl victory over West Virginia. As a sophomore, Bly was again a consensus All-American. Bly became the first player earn those honors multiple times in UNC history.

Following his three-year collegiate career, the St. Louis Rams selected Bly 41^st overall in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. Bly had 43 career interceptions, 20 forced fumbles and five touchdowns in his 11 NFL seasons. He also won a Super Bowl as a rookie. With his play at UNC, Bly said that it’s easy to get into a zone when you see that success. Bly said that he sees a similar mindset coming from Duck at UNC.

“When you get to a level, and everything you’re doing works right. You’re just so confident and you’re nasty with it, it just shows and the ball finds you,” Bly said. “And that was one of the things, like when I was playing, I tell guys my first year I had 13 picks, right? And they didn’t necessarily throw the ball my way all the time. Because the other side, we were good all across the board.

“But I told you I felt like I was Kobe Bryant when he scored 81 points. Like when you’re rolling, you’re rolling and the ball will find you. And Storm last year before he got injured, I felt like he was in one of those types of zones where he was playing that type of ball. You can see it through his personality, his demeanor. His teammates saw it, they were aware. And so that’s what it was.”