Tony Grimes: I can't personally watch the bell walk out of that locker room

Tony Grimes has no intentions of letting the Victory Bell, the annual trophy awarded in the Duke–North Carolina football rivalry game, leave Chapel Hill. The bell been in the Tar Heels’ possession since Grimes arrived as a true freshman in 2020, as UNC has claimed victories in the past three meetings.

With North Carolina preparing to travel to Durham this weekend for the annual matchup, the defensive back had a powerful message to both his teammates and the Blue Devils.

“That bell has been here for a while,” he said in a Tuesday press conference. “It’s been here as long as I’ve been here. The goal you want to see, we gotta beat Duke. The bell is important. I can’t personally watch that bell walk out this locker room.”

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The Tar Heels hold a 62-41-4 all-time advantage in the series, and have won both the past two contests in blowouts. That includes a 38-7 victory in 2021 during which Grimes and the defense forced a pair of turnovers.

However, this year’s Duke team appears to have taken a step forward under first-year coach Mike Elko. The Blue Devils (4-2) have already surpassed their win total from a year ago, and also rank fourth in the ACC in both rushing yards (190.7) and a points allowed (19.6) per game.

Because of that, Tony Grimes knows keeping the Victory Bell will be a challenge.

“They’ve got athletes, one, and they’re playing as a team,” he said. “They can run the ball, they can pass the ball, but they’re going to run the ball. So it’s going to be very exciting to see how we play them and match up against them, but they’re talented, man. They’re not just a run-over team. They’re playing ball this year.”

Grimes leads North Carolina with five passes defended in addition to 17 tackles and a forced fumble this season. The Tar Heels will look for him to continue making an impact for the defense when they kick off against Duke at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.