‘I just want to get on the field.’ UNC football’s DJ Jones making most of position switch

North Carolina football coach Mack Brown had no qualms in moving running back D.J. Jones to safety during spring practice this year.

There were some injuries in the secondary. There was a need. Jones was willing.

“We said we could move him back in a hiccup to running back,” Brown said.

That hiccup has not come. Jones is going through fall camp working at free safety and nickel – or the “star” position – as defensive backs such as DeAndre Boykins and transfer Antavious “Stick” Lane have missed time with lower-body injuries.

The need is still there. So is Jones.

Jones, a graduate student from Fayetteville, said the transition to the secondary has been a smooth one, that Boykins and the others have been watchful and helpful. It has been quite a change, reacting to plays instead of running them, hitting people instead of dodging the hits.

“I felt like I could do more for the team than what I was doing last year,” Jones said last week. “I told Mack if there was any other place that they could see me playing, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to help the team.”

Brown’s reaction?

“I don’t think he was surprised,” Jones said, smiling. “I think he was relieved I didn’t want to leave.”

A lot of college kids do these days, especially if playing time dries up. That was happening to Jones, who had just 26 carries in 13 games last season as the brunt of the work at running back was handled by Elijah Green and Omarion Hampton.

British Brooks had a season-ending knee injury in 2022 but decided to return, and the running back room was going to be crammed. Jones made the move.

A few years ago, Chazz Surratt made the switch from quarterback to linebacker and flourished, earning a chance in the NFL. Jones might not have that kind of role or impact but could find a new niche.

“Being on offense, being a student of the game, I had to learn defenses, so that was not hard for me,” Jones said. “The only thing about the transition was the new checks and formations and and reacting to the offense. I can diagnose things pretty quick.”

The hardest part about taking on a new position?

“Getting used to open-field tackling,” Jones said. “It really felt weird. I played offense my whole life. I had never tackled anybody.”

There were a few whiffs during spring ball. But there was this one big hit …

“My adrenaline was pumped,” Jones said.

At Pine Forest High in Fayetteville, Jones ran the ball or caught passes. In his first three seasons at UNC, he did the same, scoring a touchdown last season against Georgia State.

In an odd twist, one of the Georgia State defensive backs was Lane, who forced two fumbles last year in the 35-28 loss to the Heels in Atlanta. Lane, called the “Hit Stick” at Georgia State, transferred to UNC as a graduate student in January, Brown joking that he liked any defensive back named “Stick.”

But Jones has caught the eye of defensive coordinator Gene Chizik with his work, in the spring and again in preseason camp.

“He’s done some good things, put in some good time and he’s had some good reps,” Chizik said after a recent practice. “D.J. was a safety in the spring, then we decided in the summer we really needed to start teaching him some ‘star’ reps. So all of this is new.

“I’m proud of him because it’s completely new, completely different, and he’s just embraced whatever we’ve asked him to do. Embraced that role and he’s done a good job of learning there and spending extra time to learn it.”

No one can say how the season will unfold or how much playing time Jones will get on defense. But there’s always a place for a player willing to put the team before himself.

“Star or safety, it doesn’t matter to me,” Jones said. “I just want to get on the field.”