Tag: Conner Harrell

North Carolina loses quarterback to transfer portal

The UNC football program has lost a quarterback to the transfer portal.

The 2024 college football regular season ended in disappointment for the North Carolina Tar Heels, falling to NC State on Saturday. But with a coaching change, the offseason will be a very exciting one.

And already, we are getting our first news of UNC players entering the transfer portal.

The latest Tar Heel to go into the portal is quarterback Conner Harrell, he announced on Tuesday night. Harrell spent a few seasons at North Carolina, as he backed up Drake Maye before starting in last season’s bowl game vs. West Virginia.

Going into the offseason, he got a shot to start but lost that job to Max Johnson. After Johnson was hurt, Harrell started a few games before the Tar Heels turned to Jacolby Criswell for the rest of the season.

Harrell finished this season with just 282 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception. The Alabama native should have a lot of interest in the portal from teams, especially with two years of eligibility left.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see him find a home right away, either.

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Tar Heels’ trick play sparks second half run

UNC scored one of the more oddball touchdowns you’ll see in college football’s Week 2 slate.

A week after struggling to get into a consistent offensive rhythm, the North Carolina Tar Heels showcased their typically-explosive offensive during Saturday’s home football opener against Charlotte.

UNC went scoreless on its first drive of the game, then scored on three consecutive possessions and took a 21-6 lead into halftime. North Carolina starting quarterback Conner Harrell found tight end Bryson Nesbit for his first of three touchdowns, Nate McCollum scored on a 37-yard end-around, then Harrell ran in a score from four yards out.

It was the Tar Heels’ first scoring drive of the second half, though, that turned heads everywhere in Kenan Stadium.

Just 4:06 into the third quarter, UNC pulled off a double-reverse in which Harrell ended up with the ball. Harrell launched the ball downfield and found redshirt freshman Christian Hamilton, who then danced his way around the defense and into the end zone, for a 58-yard touchdown.

This play had North Carolina head coach Mack Brown buzzing in particular.

“That play, I thought it was going to blow up because when the corner came, I thought he hit us in the backfield, Brown told media after the game. “And Conner was poised, they were all poised and pitched it back to him. Conner made a great throw and again, it’s really hard to catch a ball when you’re not sure where everybody around you is located. They can all hit you and Christian was focused. Usually, people drop that ball. And then he was cool enough to step around. John Copenhaver was smart enough not to block in the back and we scored. I thought that pretty much ended the game because they (Charlotte) weren’t going to score many points.”

https://twitter.com/UNCFootball/status/1832536969483841944

Hamilton’s quarterback, Conner Harrell, was also happy his redshirt freshman receiver scored his first career touchdown. Harrell was also honest about the play, saying he wasn’t initially aiming for Hamilton.

“The play was really for the tight end, I didn’t want to miss the guy so I looked at the tight end first, that’s why I was a little late,” Harrell said. “But I got it to him (Christian Hamilton), thank god it was floating up there for a little while. It felt like an eternity, but got it to him and he got his first touchdown.”

Will we see the Tar Heels craft additional trick plays in next week’s home clash with NC Central?

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Conner Harrell leads offense with three touchdowns in first game as a starter

Conner Harrell boosted the #UNC offense to a 38-20 win with three touchdowns.

North Carolina came home to Kenan Stadium for the team’s first home game of the season against Charlotte today. In a game that was projected to be a three-score or more differential, the Tar Heels provided plenty of pizazz winning 38-20.

Specifically, one of the biggest things we kept our eye on was the ability of quarterback Conner Harrell to lead this offense and put together a passing attack that other teams would have to honor.

Harrell did just that. He proved today that his game is well-rounded, his decision-making is above par, and he can launch the ball downfield.

That was especially true on the team’s trick play that ended in a 58-yard touchdown strike to Christian Hamilton.

Harrell finished the game with 16 completions on 25 attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He also added nine carries for 39 yards and a touchdown with his legs.

The sophomore quarterback from Alabama still has much to prove as the opponent will only get harder, but this was exactly the start that fans, coaches, and players alike wanted to see out of their new starting quarterback.

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Tar Heels roll past Charlotte to move to 2-0 on season

The UNC football team shook off some early hiccups in Saturday’s home opener and beat Charlotte by a comfortable margin, thanks to a well-rounded effort.

Even with a couple of early hiccups in their 2024 home football opener against Charlotte, the North Carolina Tar Heels played significantly better than last week at Minnesota.

After trading scoreless drives to open the day, UNC scored on three straight possessions to break away from the 49ers in a 38-20 victory.

UNC finished its day with 490 yards, significantly better than the 252 it registered in Week One.

Charlotte nearly punched back with a couple of touchdowns, driving deep into the North Carolina red zone on its second and third possessions, thanks to a couple of long drives led by starting quarterback Max Brown.

The Tar Heel defense, like it did last week against Minnesota, stood tall and limited the 49ers to a pair of field goals. Jahvaree Ritzie continued his strong start to 2024, recording two sacks and becoming the first Tar Heel with five sacks in two games since Kareem Martin in 2013.

Conner Harrell, who will be North Carolina’s starting quarterback for the remainder of 2024, finished his day with two touchdown passes – one to Bryson Nesbit and another to Christian Hamilton – and a rushing touchdown. He looked a lot more comfortable on Saturday, particularly after being thrust into fourth-quarter action in relief of Max Johnson last week.

Nate McCollum also added a rushing touchdown on a 37-yard, second-quarter end-around.

Omarion Hampton looked like his usual self for UNC, running for 80 yards through two quarters, but he left the game early with an undisclosed injury. True freshman running back Davion Gause played extremely well in relief of Hampton, picking up 109 yards and scoring his first collegiate touchdown.

Hampton wasn’t the only injured Tar Heel, as star edge rusher Kaimon Rucker was announced out before the game. He has a lower-body injury that will require him to miss a couple weeks.

North Carolina has another winnable game next weekend, hosting the FCS North Carolina Central Eagles.

Will injuries to Hampton and Rucker, UNC’s two best players, cause them to struggle? Or can the Tar Heels improve to 3-0 and get their stars some much-needed rest?

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Mack Brown hoping UNC can rally around Conner Harrell

Conner Harrell is the new starter for the UNC football program and Mack Brown hopes his team can rally around him.

The North Carolina Tar Heels started the season with a big road win in Minnesota on Thursday night but it came at a price. Starting quarterback Max Johnson injured his leg in the second half and didn’t return.

A day later, head coach Mack Brown announced that Johnson had surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Now, UNC turns to backup Conner Harrell who replaced Johnson in the game as he will be the starter for the rest of the season.

And Brown is hoping his team can rally around Harrell.

“He’s been told: ‘You’ve got it,'” Brown said on Monday when meeting with the media. “And the team’s been told: ‘Let’s rally around your new quarterback and let’s go, and let’s make this work.’ Like I said, he’s really good. So it’s time for him to go have fun and play good.”

The redshirt sophomore Harrell lost the quarterback competition this offseason to Johnson although Brown said they did plan on playing both quarterbacks against Minnesota. Harrell has sat behind No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye for two seasons and now will have his chance to prove he can be the guy.

And he’s going to have to.

With UNC off to a good start, the team will look to Harrell to lead them starting this Saturday with a home game against Charlotte.

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Big opportunity for Conner Harrell after Max Johnson’s season-ending injury

Conner Harrell will replace Max Johnson at quarterback for North Carolina after Johnson suffered a season-ending leg injury on Thursday.

When Max Johnson went down in the third quarter grabbing his right knee, North Carolina fans feared the worst. Those fears were confirmed less than 24 hours later when the team reported Johnson underwent surgery for a broken leg and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

The former LSU and Texas A&M quarterback completed 12 passes for 71 yards in his lone game with the Tar Heels, an eventual win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The job under center now goes to sophomore Conner Harrell, who competed against Johnson right up to the last minute before the veteran was awarded the starting spot.

Harrell went 2-4 for 34 yards to help the ‘Heels secure a Week 1 victory, and he’ll get a couple of opportunities against lesser opponents to get his feet wet with the team hosting Charlotte, North Carolina Central, and James Madison before heading out to face Duke on the road at the end of the month.

Harrell appeared in five games with North Carolina in 2023, completing 22 passes for 278 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

The 6’2 native of Alabaster, Alabama was a three-star prospect in high school when he committed to North Carolina in July of 2021.

He was considered the 33rd best high school quarterback at 247Sports, and now gets a chance to prove he can replace not only Johnson, but follow in the footsteps of Drake Maye who starred in Chapel Hill before going No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL draft to the New England Patriots.

UNC football’s plan at quarterback vs. Minnesota is revealed

The UNC football program’s quarterback battle is not over as both quarterbacks will play vs. Minnesota.

After an offseason and then training camp of competition at the quarterback position, Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels have yet to name a starter. And it sounds like they won’t have a starter for Week 1 at Minnesota.

Instead, the Tar Heels are planning on playing both Max Johnson and Conner Harrell at quarterback for the season opener, Brown revealed on Friday. They also could do it for the entire season per the head coach.

“Depending on how the game goes, we would like to play both quarterbacks,” Brown said at his Friday press conference via Inside Carolina. “And we’d like to do it for the season.”

EDIT: MACK BROWN HAS CLARIFIED HIS COMMENTS

Now, we should keep in mind that this could be a tactic to not reveal any plans on who the starter could be against Minnesota. The Gophers elected not to released a depth chart for the game, and the Tar Heels are following suite.

However, this quarterback competition could still be going on and neither Johnson nor Harrell did enough to win the starting job and solidify themselves as a starter.  That would be concerning.

Ideally, the Tar Heels would love to have one guy be the starter all season and play well. They don’t need whoever that is to be a Sam Howell or Drake Maye, that’s just not realistic at this point. But just be good enough to lead the offense.

We will see if Mack Brown’s telling the truth as kickoff at Minnesota is under a week away.

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UNC football likely wont reveal starter at QB

The UNC football program does not plan on releasing a depth chart for Week 1 against Minnesota.

North Carolian Tar Heels’ fans will likely have to wait until pregame warmups in Week 1 to find out who the starter will be at quarterback as the competition between Max Johnson and Conner Harrell goes on.

With Minnesota not releasing a depth chart ahead of the Week 1 game against North Carolina, the Tar Heels are following the same path.

The program told the press on Saturday that they do not plan to release a depth chart ahead of that game in Minnesota, meaning we won’t actually know the starter for that game until kickoff and they are on the field.

It’s something that North Carolina rarely does but with P.J. Fleck’s team deciding not to, why not do the same?

Johnson and Harrell have both been battling it out since the Spring practice and there hasn’t been too much on who the leader is. Brown even hinted that they both could see action in the game which would make some sense. But ideally, you want to have a starter for the season named and ready to go to get that player comfortable.

The Tar Heels have usually provided a depth chart prior to a game except for the times their opponent hasn’t. It’s been rare in the Brown era.

Kickoff is just under two weeks away for the primetime showdown in Minnesota.

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Mack Brown hints on the possibility of a two-QB rotation for UNC

Could we possibly see two quarterbacks share the starting role entering the 2024 season?

It is no secret that the North Carolina Tar Heels are in a heated battle for the starting quarterback role heading into 2024. Conner Harrell is the only QB from the 2023 roster while Mack Brown also brought in Jacolby Criswell and Max Johnson as graduate transfers as well.

So far this offseason, we have seen reports on just about each of them looking better than the other at some point in time. However, Mack Brown has still yet to decide who will start under center heading into their Week 1 game against Minnesota in just under three weeks.

Something unheard of yet is the idea the Brown could start two quarterbacks in a rotation or at the same time this year.

According to an interview that Brown did he is doubling down on the fact that Harrell and Johnson are “competing at the highest level.”

When asked about starting two quarterbacks, Brown didn’t have an immediate answer, but he did express that it’s not likely.

We have in the past. We will not if somebody separates, but if we’re not really sure which will be the best, we’ll play both. I don’t know what that means yet. You don’t get to that point until you get about 10 days out.

The idea is not unheard of and has been successful for the right programs, but let’s just hope that one of these two quarterbacks passes the other.

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Chip Lindsey speaks out on UNC QB battle

OC and QB coach Chip Lindsey gives insight into Chapel Hill starting QB battle.

There is no secret in Chapel Hill that the biggest football decision still yet to be made is the person who will lead the North Carolina Tar Heels offense under center. With Drake Maye in the NFL, graduate transfers Jacolby Criswell and Max Johnson fight with Maye’s 2023 backup Conner Harrell for the starting role.

Last year at Texas A&M, Johnson threw for 1,452 yards and nine touchdowns with five interceptions. Criswell spent last season with Arkansas where he threw for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Backing up Maye in his freshman season, Harrell threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

We haven’t heard a lot from the coaching staff on the decision, but offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Lindsey spoke in depth today on the ability of the three guys and who the leader might be.

“I think all three are eager learners, they study, and if we can limit mental errors on the field, I think all three have the ability,” Lindsey said. “I really enjoy being around them and I think they are all growing and getting better each and every day.”

Watch Lindsey’s presser here;

One thing is for sure, they are taking their time. It wouldn’t surprise me if we don’t know who the starter is up until a few days before Minnesota. However, Johnson looks like the favorite for now.

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