Brown, facing QB questions, would consider playing two QBs

By R.L. Bynum

CHARLOTTE — This season will be like no other for the Mack Brown 2.0 era, from lower external expectations to lacking a clear quarterback choice.

When Sam Howell and Drake Maye were on the roster, avoiding a quarterback controversy was easy. But it is unavoidable heading into a season with no talk of a national ranking or contending for an ACC title and a muddled quarterback situation.

“I like where we are now,” said Brown, acknowledging that his Texas teams handled high expectations better than his Tar Heels teams since he returned. “We had no expectations when Drake became the quarterback. There was no buzz, and we weren’t gonna be any good and won nine out of the first 10.”

Brown says he would consider having two of his three quarterbacks — sophomore Connor Harrell (top photo), Texas A&M graduate transfer Max Johnson and graduate transfer Jacolby Criswell — share game snaps.

Brown has come out of spring practice during his second stint in Chapel Hill without naming a starter, but the choice was obvious each season until now. After neither Harrell nor Johnson seized the advantage with their spring performances, Criswell opted to transfer back after one season at Arkansas.

“That’s just part of the game and [offensive coordinator Chip] Lindsay brought them in for a reason,” Johnson said of Criswell. “I have a good relationship with him. I’m sure everyone’s gonna get reps. So, I’m looking forward to kind of seeing the dynamic of [preseason] camp and how it feels.”

It’s clear that Criswell, who has completed 35 of 58 career passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns, is glad to be back at Carolina and the coaches are happy to have him. It’s not clear if the first contact came from Criswell or UNC’s coaches. Criswell demurred twice when asked earlier this month who made the first move.

“Me and a couple guys were talking here and there, but that was about it,” was all Criswell would say. During ACC Kickoff on Thursday, Brown said that “you’d have to ask him,” while acknowledging that he heard from other players that Criswell was interested.

Brown told Criswell that he wanted him to start over since it’s unusual for a player to return to a school, particularly after missing spring practice. Criswell lamented that he probably would have been the starter if he hadn’t left.

Criswell returns after a frustrating season at Arkansas in which he played only four games. He joined the Razorbacks with the expectation that K.J. Jefferson would turn pro. Jefferson returned and played 12 games last season.

“When we say we don’t have a quarterback, we’ve really got three, and all three can play,” said Brown, who, as always is looking at the situation positively. “So, I’m excited about it. What we’ve got to do is a great job of separating them between now and game time to make sure that we get the right one on the field.”

It could be that Criswell is only adding depth to the quarterback room. He could have been that UNC’s coaches contacted him, unconvinced from the spring showings of Harrell and Johnson. Nobody is saying.

“We both want to be the starter,” Johnson said, sitting next to Harrell. “And that’s what we’re working towards.”

Along with Harrell, who has connected on 22 of 33 career passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, Criswell no longer has to compete for time with Maye. All three have experience as backups, including Johnson at LSU when Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow was there and again last season at Texas A&M.

“It’s a part of football —  competing for a job,” said Johnson, who has connected on 474 of 784 career passes for 5,852 yards and 48 touchdowns. “And I’ve done that for four years straight. I’ve been through battles, and I think it’s just a part of your journey. When I first got here, I had to earn people’s respect by the way I work and did things. I put my head down and just did things. I think I’ve opened up more as a vocal leader. Since I’ve been here.”

Harrell said that he wasn’t worried when Criswell was added to the quarterback mix and was glad to welcome back his former teammate.

“I think the important part about playing a sport, playing a position is not really worrying about all of the stuff that comes because there’s going to be challenges,” Harrell said. “If you’re constantly worrying about things you can’t control, it’s not conducive to playing well and not conducive to being the best person you can be.”

In terms of being a vocal leader, Harrell says watching Maye the last couple of seasons has given him a good example to follow.

“That’s been a big point of emphasis this year is opening up my mouth and talking to people,” Harrell said. “I know I can affect people in a positive way, especially freshmen coming in who don’t exactly know the landscape.”

Brown says the challenge going into preseason camp is making sure all three get plenty of reps, including with the first team.

“We’ve got to put them in as many game-type situations as we can. And then we’ve got to show them you got to do these five things to be our quarterback. And you’ve got to do these five things better than the other guy,” Brown said, pointing to mistakes such as holding the ball too long, throwing interceptions, not protecting the ball and not making good decisions.

“We’ve got a grade them hard every day and put them in positions where they have to be able to handle those things,” Brown said.

In the past, if one of the three started to suspect that they might not be the starter, they could leave the program before classes started. Under the new rules, players can’t enter the portal again until December.

If there is no clear starter heading into the Aug. 29 opener at Minnesota, Brown said he could play two quarterbacks until one starts to put distance between him and the others. He did it during Mack Brown 1.0 with Mike Thomas and Jason Stanicek one season and another season with Chris Keldorf and Oscar Davenport. He also did it at Texas with Major Applewhite and Chris Simms.

“I think it’s a luxury because they’re different in who they are and what they do,” Brown said. “And if you can make it work for your offensive line, then it puts more pressure on the defense.”

Also new to Mack Brown 2.0 is lacking a star wide receiver who you know is destined for the NFL. Although there are solid receivers, there is no Dyami Brown, Josh Downs or Tez Walker. Those are the types of players that demand the attention of opposing defenses.

Who will emerge as the top receiver is just one of many questions. The Tar Heels hope to start finding answers when practice opens on Monday.

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Month/ date	Score/ time	Opponent	Record/ TV
September
1	L, 48–14	vs. TCU	0–1
6	W, 20–3	at Charlotte	1–1
13	W, 41–6	vs. Richmond	2–1
20	L, 34–9	at UCF	2–2
October
4	L, 38–10	vs. Clemson	2–3, 0–1 ACC
17 (Fri.)	L, 21–18	at California	2–4, 0–2
25	L, 17–16, OT	vs. No. 16 Virginia	2–5, 0–3
31 (Fri.)	W, 27–10	at Syracuse	3–5, 1–3
November
8	W, 20–15	vs. Stanford	4–5, 2–3
15	L, 28–12	at Wake Forest	4–6, 2–4
22	L, 32–25	vs. Duke	4–7, 2–5
29	L, 42–19	at N.C. State	4–8, 2–6

Photo courtesy of the ACC