Carolina's QB Search is Open-Ended, Brown Says

CHAPEL HILL – Seeking more clarification about North Carolina’s quest to find a quarterback in the transfer portal, UNC Coach Mack Brown was asked multiple questions about it during his press conference Monday at the Kenan Football Center.

Last week, when Brown met with the media in advance of the team’s spring football game, which took place this past Saturday, he noted positions of interest in the transfer portal. Quarterback was one of them.

Prompted by fourth-team QB Tad Hudson entering the portal, Brown says the team needs a fourth scholarship quarterback. They currently have Conner Harrell and Max Johnson competing for the starting role, and true freshman Mike Merdinger as the third-teamer. But that’s it.

“We’re going to try and get another quarterback in the portal because we lost Tad Hudson,” Brown said Monday. “You need four, and a lot of people have five… So, we will look for a quarterback even though we feel like these two are in a good position to move forward.”

Brown, however, acknowledged last week the staff’s search for another player in that room was open-ended. It struck as if they aren’t solely looking for a third or fourth-team type of player, as anyone in the portal fitting that role is likely leaving their school because that’s where they were slotted there.

So, how broad is the search? Would they entertain bringing in someone who could leap Harrell and Johnson, win the job, and take the field first August 28 at Minnesota?

“All those are discussions that we have,” Brown said, referring to himself and the coaching staff. “Is it fair to Conner and Max to bring in somebody right now when they’ve missed spring? How many reps can you give them, because you’ve got to get the other two ready to play?

“Are you bringing in a guy that might be the starter the next year? Are you bringing in a guy that might be the starter if somebody gets hurt or at mid-season? And that limits your choices.”

The double-negative, from a heightening-the-challenge standpoint, for Carolina is that it’s unlikely anyone is interested in an automatic fourth-string job anywhere, so recruiting someone to that would be fruitless. Also, many quarterbacks in the portal may have left a loaded room with competition above them, so why would entering into the same scenario at UNC make sense?

That is why this endeavor is so open-ended. The staff doesn’t know yet who will show interest. They also don’t know how feasible it is bringing in a potential starter. But Brown didn't rule it out.

“That’s kind of what we’re looking at right now,” Brown said, noting all scenarios appear on deck. “We need a fourth one, how does it fit? It’s got to be the right mix. It’s got to be the right fit. It’s got to be somebody who understands the first day you get here, you’re not going to be in that mix as a starter.”

Of course, Brown and his staff don’t have any idea who the starter will be in four months. Harrell and Johnson received votes of confidence by Brown on Monday, saying both can play today and “both of them can win.”

But, when asked multiple questions about Harrell and Johnson, Brown’s responses made it rather clear both players have a long way to go, as he highlighted inconsistency as a concern. Yet, even with that, did the Hall of Famer leave the stadium Saturday with an idea of who might be a tad bit ahead?

“It’s a great question; I go back and forth,” he replied. “It’s really interesting, just being totally honest, one day I’ll walk off and say, ‘gah, he was great, the other one struggled a bit.’ Then the next day I’ll say, ‘that one had confidence, he had a hot hand, but I don’t know. I don’t know.’"

Players have until April 30 to enter their names into the transfer portal, and more quarterbacks could become available. It depends on which ones would find UNC an intriguing spot, though given Brown’s words, some might read between the lines and think they can go in and win the job.

The staff could think the same way, depending on who that is. As of now, that remains open-ended.