UNC in a situation that’s rare for them – midseason questions at QB

SPORTS; COMMUNITY NEWS

CHAPEL HILL-The Heels are now 3-0 after trouncing local foe NC Central 45-10. But do not be deceived. The Heels have not looked dominant against either of their FBS-level opponents.

They were lucky Minnesota’s kicker missed a few in their 19-17 victory in week one. They only beat UNC-Charlotte by 38-20. It was not bad at all, but it was close early, and Charlotte has gone 3-9 in each of its last two seasons. It has had one winning season in program history.

The Heels have question marks on their current season.

Perhaps none bigger than the one in the QB room.

The UNC Quarterback room has had a lot of stability in recent years. The last two quarterbacks Drake Maye and Sam Howell are NFL players and were often in Heisman Trophy talks during their careers. In 2017, the Heels produced Mitch Trubisky, who was drafted as the top signal-caller at number two overall. And years before Trubisky, Bryn Renner and Marquise Williams were very solid options for Carolina. Typically, Chapel Hill’s needs are not in the QB room.

Needless to say, the future is not as clear.

Rewind to week one and the starter for the season’s opener: 5th-year senior with SEC experience Max Johnson goes down and is out for the season. He did not perform well and his injury only narrowed down the options of the team at the position.

Conner Harrell comes in for relief and is barely allowed to do anything and only threw four passes in over a quarter of play. This seems to signal a lack of trust from the coaching staff.

Against Charlotte, redshirt sophomore Harrell did not play poorly. He may not yet be getting NFL attention, but he certainly appeared competent: a 64% completion percentage with two touchdowns while passing for 219 yards. He also tacked on a rushing touchdown and 39 yards on the ground.

Harrell has potential. He could be the guy for the Heels. It is unclear what the coaching staff thinks after this most recent game.

After going two for six on two drives, the coaching staff pulled Harrell and unexpectedly put in Jacolby Criswell.

Criswell is a bit of a prodigal son for the Heels. He spent three seasons in Chapel Hill before transferring to Arkansas and returned this year. He left his home state and the Razorbacks and said he knew what he signed up for when he returned.

“I knew Max and Conner; this was their team moving forward.” Crisell sounded like a team player saying, “I was going to help them regardless and I was just gonna wait my turn.”

He was not really mentioned much in speculation around the starting spot during the offseason. But the coaching staff claimed they planned to put him in during the third drive to give him a chance.

Criswell looked solid. Like a veteran who has been around the game as long as he has. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. Not flashy. Not bad. Not head-and-shoulders better, either.

Currently, the coaches plan to play both. Mack Brown commented:

“We’ll be playing both of ’em. We’re just gonna look at it and see what we can do to find the hot hand and keep ’em out there.”

It should be noted that Criswell competed against Maye for the starting spot before Maye’s first season as the starter and reportedly performed well in comparison. Upon his return to UNC he reflected on that competition, saying, “Spring game came down to a coin flip on who was gonna start or not,” Criswell said. “A couple of weeks later, they named him (the starter). Obviously, I believe it was super close, just because I know the work I put in, the work he put in. It was just a constant battle every single day.”

It will be interesting to see what he can do for the Heels. He did not start at Arkansas, and it remains to be seen what he can do in a full-starting capacity.

This season has the potential for one of the two former backups to come in and have an amazing story. A rapid ascension, even. An underdog story.

Or…

It could make for a back-and-forth season without clarity under center.

UNC has struggled to live up to its potential during Mack Brown’s second stint but has undoubtedly improved and made some strides. If they could not win with the previous two quarterbacks under center, how can they expect to have sustained success without knowing which two quarterbacks to play going into the fourth game of the season?

A lot remains to be seen for the Heels.

Thomas Hicks is a journalist with video, PR, and writing experience who studied at UNC and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Thomas is always looking for work and the next story! He loves working with his camera or with his pen. This reporter can be contacted at thomasjhicks55@gmail.com, LinkedIn: Thomas Hicks and X: ThomasJ_H