CHARLOTTE — Conner Harrell and Max Johnson were side by side in a room on the third floor of the Hilton Charlotte Uptown, fielding questions about North Carolina football’s quarterback competition.
Harrell and Johnson, along with Jacolby Criswell, are battling to replace first-round pick Drake Maye as UNC’s starter in the 2024 opener on Aug. 29 at Minnesota.
“Obviously I get asked this question a lot. I always say, me and Max are the only people in the world going through this situation with these coaches and with this team,” said Harrell, a sophomore who started the Tar Heels’ bowl game last season.
“Obviously it brings you closer. We’re together all the time, working together, trying to figure out how to make the team better. That brings you closer. I think the end goal is we want to win a championship. That creates a bond, so …”
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Johnson, a Texas A&M transfer, said he and Harrell are getting opportunities to prove themselves in practice situations.
“We usually switch off day in and day out with who gets the 1s (starters) and who gets the 2s (backups),” Johnson said. “That’s what we kind of did in the spring and we’ll see where that goes in fall camp.”
In late April, Criswell made the situation more complex by returning to Chapel Hill. The Arkansas transfer started his career at UNC, where he once battled Maye for the starting job.
“That’s just part of game. Coach (Chip) Lindsey brought him in for a reason, so did Coach (Mack) Brown,” Johnson said.
“. … I’m sure everyone’s gonna get reps, so I’m looking forward to kind of seeing the dynamic of fall camp and how it goes.”
How UNC football coach Mack Brown views the quarterback competition
Despite losing Maye to the NFL, Mack Brown believes the Tar Heels have a chance to be a more complete team in 2024.
Even with questions at quarterback, UNC returns several offensive playmakers, including tight end Bryson Nesbit and running back Omarion Hampton — a pair of All-ACC selections in 2023.
“Conner has played enough now that he gets it. He’s got to chance to be really good. Max has thrown 900 balls in the SEC,” Brown said.
“I do think what will happen is our defense is going to be better. Last year we ran the ball more like we did when Michael Carter and Javonte Williams were here. We’re going to help the defense more with our offense. These guys have to step up and they can’t be Drake, they can’t be Sam, but we can be a better team.”
Brown has questions of his own with preseason practice set to begin Monday in Chapel Hill.
“How do you practice ‘em and how do you practice three (quarterbacks)?” Brown said.
“Since Jacolby missed spring, do you let him get in the mix with the other two or do you have it a two-man race with Jacolby hanging in there? We’ve got to put ‘em in as many game-type situations as we can.”
It’ll be an every-day process throughout August to see which quarterback can separate himself before the Tar Heels head to Minneapolis.
“We’ve gotta make it very clear: here’s what you have to do to be the starter,” Brown said. “Then we’ve got to grade them hard every day and put ‘em in positions where they have to be able to handle those things.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How Mack Brown is approaching UNC football’s quarterback battle
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