Tag: Conner Harrell

On3 predicts the winner of the UNC football QB battle

With three quarterbacks battling for the starting role, On3 predicts this QB to come out on top.

Last season’s North Carolina Tar Heels team was highlighted by superstar quarterback Drake Maye. Maye eventually went on to have a great season and was selected as a top-three draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

With Maye in the NFL, the Tar Heels are forced to find a new signal caller behind center. There are three guys currently in the mix for that position.

Conner Harrell, one of the three players vying for the starting quarterback role, was the only player left on the team that was on the depth chart last season. As a freshman last year, Harrell completed 22 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions as the main backup to Maye.

Jacolby Criswell has an interesting story leading up to his fight for this spot. He spent the first three years of his collegiate career with the Tar Heels before transferring his junior year to Arkansas. He had very minimal stats in those first three years. His first sophomore year was his most productive with 179 passing yards and a touchdown.

Last season, he had 143 yards and three touchdowns on 17 completed passes. He has thrown just one interception in his entire career.

The last member of the battle is another graduate transfer, Max Johnson.

Johnson spent the first two years of his career with LSU where he threw 474 completions for 3,883 yards and 35 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He transferred to Texas A&M where he also spent two years. He completed 161 passes for 1,969 yards and 12 touchdowns with five interceptions before making the move in his last year of eligibility to North Carolina.

On3 predicts that Max Johnson will get the start in Week 1 against Minnesota, but that the leash will be tight, and multiple quarterbacks might be involved early and often.

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UNC football players stroll into Training Camp Sunday

Training Camp for the UNC football team officially started on Sunday, July 28. Look at how happy the players were!

A month from today, the North Carolina Tar Heels will play their first football game of the 2024 season.

UNC will head up north to Minnesota, where there’ll face the Golden Gophers for a second-consecutive season. North Carolina and Minnesota clashed for the first time ever last year, on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Kenan Stadium, when Drake Maye threw for over 400 yards in a 31-13 UNC victory.

Even with returning stars like Omarion Hampton and Kaimon Rucker, the Tar Heels are going to have a new look on both sides of the football. Conner Harrell and Max Johnson are competing for the starting quarterback gig, J.J. Jones and Nate McCollum now lead the receiving corps, plus North Carolina welcomes a new defensive coordinator in Geoff Collins.

Luckily for the Tar Heels, they’ve had a whole summer – and still have a month – to prepare for the season.

UNC took another step closer to kickoff on Sunday, as players rolled into Training Camp.

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By the end of Training Camp, North Carolina should have some answers to its greatest position battles. We could even see some freshman move into starting roles, such as wide receiver Jordan Shipp.

The greatest question all us Tar Heels fans have: how will this season compare to last?

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Mack Brown believes Tar Heels have chance to be better in 2024

Head coach Mack Brown thinks a new-look team might not necessarily be the worst thing for his UNC football program.

The ACC Football Kickoff came to an end on Thursday afternoon, with our North Carolina Tar Heels closing out the 4-day event.

UNC sent its best to Charlotte: head coach Mack Brown, start running back Omarion Hampton, linebackers Kaimon Rucker and Power Echols, plus the quarterback duo of Max Johnson and Conner Harrell, both of whom are competing for the starting job. These six got North Carolina fans excited about the upcoming season, which starts on Thursday, August 29 at Minnesota.

Even with all the talent the Tar Heels sport on this year’s roster, there’s no denying it’s different. UNC doesn’t have star wide receiver Tez Walker, but the most glaring difference is no Drake Maye, whom the New England Patirots took third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Are there going to be growing pains? Sure. Will it be weird catching passes from either Harrell or Johnson? No, but players will have to build chemistry with a different guy under center.

Regardless of how you choose to look at North Carolina’s upcoming season, Brown is confident about his team’s chances.

“I think we can have a better chance to have a better team without as much hype at quarterback,” Brown told ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “We’ll run the ball better. We’ll play better defense. We’ll play complementary football better. With Sam and Drake, you’re trying to win the Heisman. You’re throwing it every time.”

Omarion Hampton is easily the Tar Heels’ most skilled returner, as he earned First Team All-ACC honors last year, during a season when he collected 15 rushing touchdowns and a conference-best 1,504 rushing yards. Echols collected 102 tackles in 2023, while Rucker had a team-high 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

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UNC football players take over the Dean Dome on Tuesday

Check out what the UNC football team did on Tuesday afternoon.

The raucous crowds, big plays, tailgates, and stadium entrances all define one sport – college football.

The North Carolina Tar Heels begin their coming season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Minnesota, a team they beat in their inaugural matchup – 31-13 – last year in Chapel Hill. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding UNC entering the fall, with plenty of starting spots open, but also plenty of excitement with players who could step into those starting roles.

The greatest debate on North Carolina’s roster is at the quarterback position, with the battle between returning sophomore Conner Harrell and Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson. Kaimon Rucker will step up to lead the defense, while J.J. Jones is the Tar Heels’ new top receiver.

Even with all the decisions still needing to be made, that didn’t stop players from having a little fun on Tuesday at the Dean Dome.

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If head UNC men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis ever wants to recruit a couple football guys, he has several to pick from.

I saw a lot of perimeter makes, a couple layups and dunks at the end. The video ended with Harrell and Johnson bumping shoulders – even in the midst of a heated competition, they’re still teammates and good friends with one another.

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ACC Football Kickoff 2024 will be well-represented by conference quarterbacks

Max Johnson and Conner Harrell, who are battling for UNC’s starting quarterback job, will both be present at the ACC Football Kickoff on Thursday.

The anticipation for the start of college football season continues to build, especially in the ACC, with the ACC Football Kickoff running until Thursday afternoon.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips started off Monday responding to the Big 12 Commissioner, highlighting the ACC is a Top-3 conference. Georgia Tech, Florida State and conference newcomer SMU followed Phillips, then Tuesday included appearances from Pitt, Virginia Tech, California, Stanford and Virginia.

The ACC Football Kickoff continues Wednesday with Miami, Louisville, Boston College, Duke and Wake Forest, then concludes Thursday with NC State, Syracuse, Clemson and our North Carolina Tar Heels.

Head coaches from every program either already were – or will – be there. Several players are also planned to make appearances – some program veterans, plus a few new guys.

One position group that will be well-represented at the ACC Football Kickoff, however, is quarterbacks.

“A whopping total of 19 quarterbacks are set to be in attendance at the ACC Football Kickoff, with every team but Florida State and Wake Forest bringing at least one,” CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson wrote. “Cal, Duke and North Carolina are all bringing two quarterbacks, so any questions about those upcoming quarterback competitions can be answered directly.”

At UNC, the quarterback battle likely comes down to Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and last year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl starter Conner Harrell, who’s been in Chapel Hill for the past two seasons. Both Johnson and Harrell will be available at 1 p.m. Thursday, when North Carolina takes the stage.

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Phil Steele projects UNC football to finish amongst middle of ACC in 2024

Does Phil Steele’s projected 2024 finish for the UNC football team surprise you?

With July officially starting on Monday, that means one thing: college football begins next month.

The greatest storyline entering this fall is the expanded College Football Playoff, which increases from four to 12 teams. This gives teams outside of the usual Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan a greater chance to reach glory – will we see a Group of 5 school, such as App State, in the Final 12?

In Chapel Hill, the biggest storyline to watch is who quarterbacks a new-look roster. 2022 ACC Rookie and Player of the Year Drake Maye was selected early in this year’s NFL Draft – third overall by the New England Patriots – and North Carolina’s choices at 2024 starter range between Conner Harrell, Max Johnson and Jacoby Criswell.

The Tar Heels also sport a brand-new defensive coordinator in former Temple and Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins.

With all the questions across UNC’s roster, college football sportswriter/analyst Phil Steele picks UNC to finish eighth in the larger, 17-team ACC.

“North Carolina’s success during Mack Brown’s return to the program has been predicated by elite play at the quarterback position, with Sam Howell and Drake Maye helping elevate the program in a major way before making the jump to the NFL level,” Steele said in an On3 Sports article by Kaiden Smith. “Former Texas A&M and LSU quarterback Max Johnson will likely be this year’s starter under center, and will get help from one of the nation’s top running backs Omarion Hampton. But with the Tar Heels having their third defensive coordinator since 2019, better play on that side of the ball could dictate their success.”

Will the Tar Heels exceed expectations and compete for an ACC crown, or stay in mediocrity?

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North Carolina’s quarterback room ranked amongst Top 10 tiers entering 2024 season

The 2024 UNC quarterback room is ranked higher than you might think.

Knowing that 2022 ACC Player of the Year Drake Maye was returning last season, the UNC football team didn’t have to stress about its quarterback situation.

With Drake Maye now in the NFL, looking to become the next great New England Patriots quarterback, North Carolina goes back to the drawing board under center. The Tar Heels return star running back Omarion Hampton and a deep tight end room, led by Bryson Nesbit, but carry a new group of wide receivers besides J.J. Jones and Nate McCollum.

UNC doesn’t have the luxury of knowing its starting quarterback this season, but it does have the luxury of three starting-caliber quarterbacks to choose from.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl starter Conner Harrell, Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and Jacolby Criswell, who began his career in Chapel Hill, transferred back after a season at Arkansas.

With these three guys in the room, ESPN ranked North Carolina’s quarterback situation in its eighth tier (of 20) entering the fall.

Check out what ESPN has to say about Johnson regarding his Tier 8 spot:

“It’s UNC’s (Max) Johnson who no one seems to be overly excited about,” David Hale wrote. “Perhaps it’s that he has been stuck on two different SEC teams whose coaches ultimately got fired. Regardless, he has been pretty solid, if never entirely thrilling. He’s basically the Big Boi of college football — around forever, part of some big brands, always overshadowed and undervalued.”

I know the Tar Heels aren’t expected to do a ton this coming season, but they have a lot of unproven talent. That begins in the quarterback room, where either Harrell, Johnson or Criswell could start from Day One.

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North Carolina in bottom half of CBS Sports’ ACC football post-spring rankings

Can the UNC football program outperform its lowly preseason expectations this fall?

The college football offseason is always fun, right?

That “fun,” if you want to call it that, is highlighted in recent years by the transfer portal. JT Daniels transferred to seemingly every FBS school possible, while Jayden Daniels became a Heisman Trophy winner after heading from Arizona State to LSU.

Another fun part of the offseason is fans and media outlets hoping their preseason predictions come true. Will the Virginia Techs of the world finally return to conference championship glory? Does Michigan repeat its 2024 success?

In the ACC this coming fall, particularly for our North Carolina Tar Heels, there’s a ton of uncertainty. UNC lost 2022 ACC Player and Rookie of the Year Drake Maye to the NFL Draft, its best receiver in Devontez Walker also went pro and defensive standout Cedric Gray – if you haven’t caught onto the theme of this sentence – is also now a professional football player.

Due to all this uncertainty, CBS Sports ranks North Carolina 11th in its ACC post-spring power rankings, ahead of just Duke, Wake Forest, Boston College, Pitt, UVA and ACC newcomer Cal.

“After flipping Sam Howell and making a bowl game in his first year back, Mack Brown has mostly been leading North Carolina teams into the fall with expectations of competing for a title,” Chip Patterson wrote. “From 2020-23, the Tar Heels were picked in the top three of the ACC preseason media poll three times – interestingly enough, recording their best finish (2nd in 2022) in the year they were picked 7th – and twice boasting the Preseason All-ACC pick at quarterback. Now, quarterback is a huge question mark, the wide receiver position has lost key contributors and the defense is looking to finally take a step forward under new coordinator Geoff Collins. North Carolina may have one of the top running backs with Omarion Hampton back, but this is about as much uncertainty has the Tar Heels have had regarding both the ceiling and floor for expectations heading into the season.”

These are simply just preseason rankings, which we’ve seen plenty of teams outperform. We’ve also firsthand witnessed basketball teams not live up to their preseason hype (no, we don’t want to relive those painful memories).

Despite their uncertainty at quarterback, the Tar Heels have an intriguing battle between Duke’s Mayo Bowl starter Conner Harrell and Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson.

Senior wide receiver J.J. Jones and a deep tight end room, however, bring some much needed comfortability for whoever wins the starting QB gig.

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Jacolby Criswell on why he’s returning to UNC football program

Why did Jacolby Criswell announce his return to the UNC football program?

Remember the name Jacolby Criswell?

If you do, it’s because he was in a pretty tight battle for the QB1 spot with Drake Maye ahead of the 2022 UNC football season.

Sam Howell recently departed for the 2022 NFL Draft, leaving North Carolina with two largely unproven quarterbacks at the collegiate level.

Criswell transferred to Arkansas ahead of the 2023 campaign, with Maye locking down the starting job not far into 2022. The hope for Criswell was to compete with KJ Jefferson for the starting job, but Criswell only played four games in reserve action, though he did throw three touchdowns.

Criswell, an Arkansas native, re-entered the transfer portal two weeks back and found his destination – North Carolina.

It’s not uncommon to see a student-athlete enter a transfer portal, but it is rare to see them back at their initial program.

In a recent interview with InsideCarolina, Criswell explained his decision in returning to Chapel Hill:

“Well, I’m still close with all the guys here,” Criswell told InsideCarolina’s Jeremiah Holloway. Just being around those guys my first couple of years and the culture here — I mean, this is where I committed to begin with. So there was a reason why I committed here. And just looking back at everything, this is actually my home. And a lot of times, when you leave somewhere, it’s not good to go back. But when it comes to Carolina, it’s always great.”

Criswell’s return gives UNC yet another weapon and tough choice at quarterback, as Duke’s Mayo Bowl starter Conner Harrell and Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson were already competing for the starting gig. Harrell’s upside is a strong arm, longstanding chemistry with his teammates and familiarity with the system, while Johnson brings several years of starting experience to the table.

Criswell has not started a game yet, but he’s even more familiar with North Carolina’s system than Harrell.

Will that familiarity be enough to land Criswell the starting job in his return?

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Class of 2026 QB target Noah Grubbs praises UNC during recent visit

Will UNC’s quarterback-centered offense be enough to swing Class of 2026 QB Noah Grubbs?

Can you believe the start of college football season is just four months away?

We’ve been celebrating the NFL Draft here in Tar Heel Nation, with star UNC quarterback Drake Maye going third overall to the New England Patriots on Thursday night, but we’re equally as excited about the future.

North Carolina held its Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 20, with the main focus a quarterback competition between Conner Harrell and Max Johnson. The latter will be gone in two years, as Johnson’s currently a junior, leaving the Tar Heel with a major need for more quarterbacks in the future.

Luckily for UNC, one of its Class of 2026 targets in 4-star quarterback Noah Grubbs, left the Spring game with a strong impression.

“My visit was great,” Grubbs told Tar Heel Illustrated’s Lee Wardlaw. “It meant a lot to my family and I that Coach Mack Brown and Coach Chip Lindsey really prioritized us on the visit. The university means more to my family than anyone could imagine. Honestly, we were blown away.”

One area in particular Grubbs liked – how North Carolina’s offense is so quarterback-focused.

“Yes, I really like his (Coach Chip Lindsey’s) offense, and he lets the quarterback ‘just play’ without thinking,’ Grubbs said. “It’s ‘easy read,’ and I love how balanced the offense is. Coach Lindsey really knows how to make it simple for the quarterbacks to go through their progressions and make decisions. It also showcases a lot of our ability to stretch the field vertically.”

You’ll want Grubbs in Chapel Hill even more after seeing his high school statline, as he has a whopping 5,263 yards and 66 touchdowns in just 24 total games.

Grubbs, the nation’s third-ranked quarterback, is also getting looks from Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas A&M and UCF.

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