GoHeels Exclusive: Dorn Helps Put UNC Back On the Right Trajectory
November 23, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Myles Dorn watched and waited, contemplating his next move.
In the immediate aftermath of North Carolina's 2018 season, the then-junior knew he needed to undergo surgery to address the knee injury that plagued him throughout the campaign. But that was all he was certain of.
Larry Fedora had just been dismissed as UNC's head coach, and a replacement had yet to be named. Unsure of who it might be, Dorn began weighing his options. And there were many.Â
Since arriving in Chapel Hill in 2016, he said he had had all intentions of entering the NFL Draft after his junior season. He certainly still could have. But coming off a campaign that hadn't met his expectations, he knew there'd be risks involved with leaving school early. He also knew he could transfer and finish his college career elsewhere. Or he could stay.
Dorn had been pondering his future for a few days when Mack Brown was announced as Fedora's successor. Soon after, Dorn received a call from his father, Torin, a running back and defensive back on Brown's first two Tar Heel teams in 1988 and 1989.
"He called me and said, 'Everything is going to be alright. Just stay put where you are and everything will fall into place,'" Dorn said. "Right then I kind of knew his experience was good and I kind of asked about it. The confidence he had in (Brown) coming back here and what he could do and what he could change, I felt like that stuck with me."
It still does a year later.
Torin's vote of confidence convinced Dorn to stay. And heading into his final game at Kenan Stadium on Saturday against Mercer, the younger Dorn stands by that decision for several reasons. None might be bigger than the relationship he's formed with Brown.
"He's been nothing but amazing," Dorn said. "He brought fun back to the game for a lot of us. …Your head coach is the one who normally gets on you the most and is normally the one who you don't talk to the most and you don't see the most. But we see him probably more or just as much as we see our position coach.Â
"He's just there. He's around, he'll come through the players' lounge, he's eating with us, he'll be in the lunchroom all day. I think that's big, having a personal connection with your players."
From the moment he took the stage for his introductory press conference in the Blue Zone last November until now, Brown has talked about the importance of those relationships and how much he missed them in his five years away from coaching.
On Monday, he was asked which seniors have made the biggest impact on him this season. One immediately came to mind.
"It's really special for me to coach Myles Dorn because of his dad," Brown said. "How cool is that? I would think that very few, if any, coaches have been able to coach the dad and the son and have both of them start and both of them be really good players."
One of Carolina's best players the past four seasons, Dorn has appeared in 43 games at safety, recording 229 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. Despite being sidelined for three games last season due to his knee injury, he's still played 2,505 career snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Among the players who will be honored on Senior Day, none have played more.
As important as Dorn's presence has been throughout his career, it's been critical this season. A rash of injuries in the secondary have led to multiple underclassmen seeing action. And it's been Dorn's responsibility to make sure they're in the right places. He's done that while playing 704 of 715 defensive snaps, the fifth most among Power 5 safeties, according to PFF.
In the spring, Dorn couldn't practice due to injury. But he did everything he could to learn Jay Bateman's defense, jotting down notes on index cards that he studied constantly. That made a strong impression on UNC's new defensive coordinator.
"Pretty quickly I could tell that football made sense to him," said Bateman, who has called Dorn elite smart. "I tell all the NFL scouts, 'I've sat in enough of those secondary rooms. Myles Dorn will make your team because he's going to be able to play both safeties, he's going to know what to do at nickel, he's going to know what to do at speed linebacker, he's going to cover every kick and he's going to show up every day.Â
"He's a pretty special kid. I wish he had another year."
The year before Dorn's freshman season, the Tar Heels won the ACC Coastal Division and took Clemson down to the wire in the conference championship game. At that point, he thought the program was on the rise, he said. Then Carolina went 13-23 over his first three seasons.
On its surface, UNC's 4-6 record this season might not seem like an incremental improvement. But anyone who's watched the Tar Heels know how far they've come. And Dorn is proud to have helped put them on the right trajectory.
Â
"Being hurt really made me stay and it made me come back and it really gave me a chance to be a part of what's going on now," Dorn said. "We haven't necessarily pulled out every game we're supposed to. But where the program is heading and how much fun it's been to be on this team and to see what a college program is supposed to be like from top to bottom, I think that's something everybody should experience."
Surely, there's a part of Dorn that wishes he could experience it a bit longer. But he's come to terms with the fact that he'll wear a Carolina uniform only two, hopefully three, more times.
Dorn, from Charlotte, expects at least 15 friends and family members to make the trip to Chapel Hill for Senior Day. He also said he's unsure when his emotions will hit him. Whenever they do, though, he'll stop and think about his journey to this point and how everything he went through was worth it.
"Somebody asked me the other week, 'If you could do it all over again, would you go to the same place?'" Dorn said. "And I definitely would. I think the trials and tribulations we've been through here have only made me a better person and a better player. I don't think I could have got that anywhere else.Â
"Just to be able to have as much fun as I've had my senior year, I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Myles Dorn watched and waited, contemplating his next move.
In the immediate aftermath of North Carolina's 2018 season, the then-junior knew he needed to undergo surgery to address the knee injury that plagued him throughout the campaign. But that was all he was certain of.
Larry Fedora had just been dismissed as UNC's head coach, and a replacement had yet to be named. Unsure of who it might be, Dorn began weighing his options. And there were many.Â
Since arriving in Chapel Hill in 2016, he said he had had all intentions of entering the NFL Draft after his junior season. He certainly still could have. But coming off a campaign that hadn't met his expectations, he knew there'd be risks involved with leaving school early. He also knew he could transfer and finish his college career elsewhere. Or he could stay.
Dorn had been pondering his future for a few days when Mack Brown was announced as Fedora's successor. Soon after, Dorn received a call from his father, Torin, a running back and defensive back on Brown's first two Tar Heel teams in 1988 and 1989.
"He called me and said, 'Everything is going to be alright. Just stay put where you are and everything will fall into place,'" Dorn said. "Right then I kind of knew his experience was good and I kind of asked about it. The confidence he had in (Brown) coming back here and what he could do and what he could change, I felt like that stuck with me."
It still does a year later.
Torin's vote of confidence convinced Dorn to stay. And heading into his final game at Kenan Stadium on Saturday against Mercer, the younger Dorn stands by that decision for several reasons. None might be bigger than the relationship he's formed with Brown.
"He's been nothing but amazing," Dorn said. "He brought fun back to the game for a lot of us. …Your head coach is the one who normally gets on you the most and is normally the one who you don't talk to the most and you don't see the most. But we see him probably more or just as much as we see our position coach.Â
"He's just there. He's around, he'll come through the players' lounge, he's eating with us, he'll be in the lunchroom all day. I think that's big, having a personal connection with your players."
From the moment he took the stage for his introductory press conference in the Blue Zone last November until now, Brown has talked about the importance of those relationships and how much he missed them in his five years away from coaching.
On Monday, he was asked which seniors have made the biggest impact on him this season. One immediately came to mind.
"It's really special for me to coach Myles Dorn because of his dad," Brown said. "How cool is that? I would think that very few, if any, coaches have been able to coach the dad and the son and have both of them start and both of them be really good players."
One of Carolina's best players the past four seasons, Dorn has appeared in 43 games at safety, recording 229 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. Despite being sidelined for three games last season due to his knee injury, he's still played 2,505 career snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Among the players who will be honored on Senior Day, none have played more.
As important as Dorn's presence has been throughout his career, it's been critical this season. A rash of injuries in the secondary have led to multiple underclassmen seeing action. And it's been Dorn's responsibility to make sure they're in the right places. He's done that while playing 704 of 715 defensive snaps, the fifth most among Power 5 safeties, according to PFF.
In the spring, Dorn couldn't practice due to injury. But he did everything he could to learn Jay Bateman's defense, jotting down notes on index cards that he studied constantly. That made a strong impression on UNC's new defensive coordinator.
"Pretty quickly I could tell that football made sense to him," said Bateman, who has called Dorn elite smart. "I tell all the NFL scouts, 'I've sat in enough of those secondary rooms. Myles Dorn will make your team because he's going to be able to play both safeties, he's going to know what to do at nickel, he's going to know what to do at speed linebacker, he's going to cover every kick and he's going to show up every day.Â
"He's a pretty special kid. I wish he had another year."
The year before Dorn's freshman season, the Tar Heels won the ACC Coastal Division and took Clemson down to the wire in the conference championship game. At that point, he thought the program was on the rise, he said. Then Carolina went 13-23 over his first three seasons.
On its surface, UNC's 4-6 record this season might not seem like an incremental improvement. But anyone who's watched the Tar Heels know how far they've come. And Dorn is proud to have helped put them on the right trajectory.
Â
"Being hurt really made me stay and it made me come back and it really gave me a chance to be a part of what's going on now," Dorn said. "We haven't necessarily pulled out every game we're supposed to. But where the program is heading and how much fun it's been to be on this team and to see what a college program is supposed to be like from top to bottom, I think that's something everybody should experience."
Surely, there's a part of Dorn that wishes he could experience it a bit longer. But he's come to terms with the fact that he'll wear a Carolina uniform only two, hopefully three, more times.
Dorn, from Charlotte, expects at least 15 friends and family members to make the trip to Chapel Hill for Senior Day. He also said he's unsure when his emotions will hit him. Whenever they do, though, he'll stop and think about his journey to this point and how everything he went through was worth it.
"Somebody asked me the other week, 'If you could do it all over again, would you go to the same place?'" Dorn said. "And I definitely would. I think the trials and tribulations we've been through here have only made me a better person and a better player. I don't think I could have got that anywhere else.Â
"Just to be able to have as much fun as I've had my senior year, I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Players Mentioned
Defensive Back
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