CHAPEL HILL – Ten practices into fall camp, and North Carolina’s coaching staff had not settled on a starting quarterback, at least as of Saturday afternoon moments after the Tar Heels finished their workout.

Quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey took questions from the assembled media at the Koman Practice Complex, much of which focused on the QB battle between Max Johnson and Conner Harrell. Jacolby Criswell was mentioned some, but it appears this has really been a two-man race all along.

In eventually making a decision, Brown and Lindsey have said they want to see some kind of separation. But Lindsey didn’t intimate anyone has stepped out in front. The inconsistency atop the leaderboard has marked this battle going back to the spring.

“I think it’s day-to-day,” Lindsey said, referring to an updated depth chart and the movement at that spot. “There are some days one will have better than the other.”

When Tar Heel Illustrated was at practice this past Tuesday, Johnson and Harrell rotated reps with the blue team, which comprises the starters. Criswell got a couple of reps with the blues, but was almost always with the third team, and in some drills got fewer reps than Johnson or Harrell.

“We’re rotating guys, still all three, and really in some ways in a reward system,” Lindsey said. “We base the depth chart on who plays best the day before, but they’re all getting reps with the ones still. We rotate three. So, we’re not really ready to make a decision, and we won’t have to. We’re not quite three weeks from playing.”

Johnson spent two seasons at LSU and the last two at Texas A&M. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, he has played in 30 games, starting 22 times, and is 474-for-784 with 5,853 yards, 47 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. His father, Brad Johnson, played in the NFL for 15 years and won a Super Bowl.

Harrell is now a redshirt sophomore in his third season at UNC. Sitting behind Drake Maye, he played little last season, but did start the Tar Heels’ bowl loss to West Virginia.

He was 18-for-27 with a touchdown and two interceptions that day. And for the season, was 22-for-30 with 270 yards, two scores and two picks. He has played only 93 snaps at Carolina.

Johnson, however, has played 1,624 snaps, including 424 last season before a rib injury ended his campaign, and 103 of his career passing attempts have either been dropped (60) or throw aways (43). In his second year at LSU, 30 Tigers’ receivers dropped 30 of Johnson’s passes.

“When you look at those three guys, Max obviously has the experience, but at the same time, here at Carolina in our offense, he’s not the most experienced,” Lindsey said. “Any time you change schools, terminology’s different, some concepts and so forth.

“Conner has an advantage there for sure because he’s been with me for a year. And then Jacolby’s coming in in the summer and really, and for the short time he’s been here, it’s really amazing to see how he’s grown, understanding terminology of the offense.”

At the end of spring practice, Lindsey sat down with Johnson and Harrell to discuss what was needed over the summer, and it’s clear he’s pleased with how both players ran with the instructions.

“What I saw this summer is they both did things together as leaders together. They got the receivers together and worked, and the times that we were with them in the summer, you can just see it.”

Loaded with intel and having a keen grasp on where each player is, Lindsey was asked to simplify how he sees Harrel and Johnson.

On Harrell: “I think Conner’s a much more accurate thrower. I think he’s improved in that. The work he’s put in to get his body in the right position every time he throws. Obviously, he has a great arm. He can really throw it.

“Sometimes, his body is out of whack some, and Clyde’s (Christensen) done a great job helping him with that, and we’ve really pushed him to work on these things. Stay balanced, don’t fall off. Don’t be out on your front foot, stay back. And he’s really worked hard on those things, and I think those things are paying off.”

On Johnson: “With Max, I think for him it’s still just pocket presence, being able to understand where his drop needs to be. He’s a big kid, he’s 6-5, similar to Drake but sometimes can get a little deep. So, it’s good to see him understanding, ‘hey, in this protection, this is where the o-line thinks you’re going to be. You’re going to be around eight-and-a-half, nine yards. Now this one you’re going to be about seven yards.’

“Making sure his feet are in a good spot, I think his footwork has really improved. And that’s something he asked me to do out of spring.”

UNC opens at Minnesota on August 29, and while head coach Mack Brown said after the first practice they hoped to name a starter between ten days into fall camp and ten days before the opener, that means crunch time has essentially arrived.

Expect Brown to name a starter fairly soon.