UNC secondary overcomes penalties, mistakes

During games, the primary responsibility of the North Carolina secondary is to move backward — whether it’s back-pedaling, turning back to watch the quarterback or making sure no receiver gets behind them.

But when mistakes were made in Saturday’s game against Virginia, each UNC cornerback and safety moved forward, not backward. They forgot the play ever happened.

So after senior cornerback Malik Simmons committed two defensive pass interference penalties on the same fourth quarter drive, the secondary did forget. And four plays later, senior linebacker Shakeel Rashad snatched an interception in the end zone, helping the Tar Heels maintain their lead and eventual 26-13 victory over the…