CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina quarterback Jacolby Criswell entered the 2024 season having made just one start in his college career, which came in 2021 during his first stint in Chapel Hill. Now, as the Tar Heels reach the halfway point of the regular season, Criswell is QB1 for UNC, having secured a career-high in every major statistical category.]

After spending last season at Arkansas, he returned to UNC but was told he likely wouldn't get on the field and would be the Tar Heels' third-team quarterback. But with a season-ending injury to Max Johnson followed by Conner Harrell's struggles, Criswell is now Carolina's QB1.

Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey spoke with the media ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Pittsburgh, where he addressed Criswell’s emergence as the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback and his progression in his return to North Carolina.

Q: What have you been working on with Jacolby and how have you seen him hone his pocket presence in the past two games?

LINDSEY: “It has improved. I think he does a really nice job of keeping his eyes up as he’s moving in the pocket and escaping. You saw him make a couple throws I know to JJ and Kobe as he was sliding around and up in the pocket. We really worked hard [at] trying to make sure he understands [with] certain drops where his depth needs to be to help our tackles or to help the OLine because of their set, depending on if it’s quick game or drop back. All that stuff has to tie in together and I think Jacolby’s improved in that area. A couple [he] was probably a little deep on Saturday and watching the film, he understands that really quick. I think he’s improved. Quarterback play, some guys have a really good knack of understanding how to keep their eyes up without watching the rush and I think that’s one of the strengths that he’s shown is that he can make plays in and around, moving in and out of the pocket, and really on the run. For a guy that hasn’t played as much, it’s pretty impressive to see what he can do in those situations.”

Q: In the times we’ve been around him, he seems like a very mature young man. Obviously he’s had some ups and downs in his personal life getting to this point. How much does that help him stepping into here?

LINDSEY: “I think your life, the things you go through in life a lot of times they define who you are and what your personality maybe is or how you approach certain things. Getting to know him personally since he’s been here is just really impressive. You’re right, he’s very mature. [He] doesn’t have as much experience as maybe his maturity shows from who he is as a person. I think that’s a testament to his growing up and what he’s learned throughout the years. He’s a very mature guy, I think he’s never too high, never too low. I think that’s a really good quality to have as a quarterback and probably life experiences have helped him with that.”

Q: How quickly do you think he can learn about going through progressions and finding a second receiver when the rush is coming like other guys who have played a lot more have been able to do?

LINDSEY: “He’s probably a little hard on himself. I would say there’s probably five or six plays in his mind after watching it with him that he said, ‘yeah, I missed that, the ball should’ve gone here,’ and that’s probably what he’s referring to. Like I said earlier, I think he’s really done a nice job keeping plays alive and pocket awareness and pocket presence. Jacolby is a guy that’s not going to point the finger at anybody, it doesn’t matter if we don’t pick up a pressure or we miss on the edge or something. I think it’s him trying to take the load, but really if you got back and study what he did, the thing that I like that he’s done too is sometimes he understands there’s not a play there [so] throw it away, play the next play. We had the interception, he still talks about James Madison where he threw back across his body and those are learning experiences for him. I like the way he’s getting the ball out of his hand. We all have things I’m sure we’d like to take back from Saturday and I’m sure he’s referring to that, but really so far, I’ve been impressed. I told you last week for the last three weeks since we lost Max, he’s revved up everything. He spends a lot of time up here watching film, studying, and trying to get ready. I think some of that’s really paying off for him and again, we’ve just got to be more consistent as a unit and that’s what we’re really striving for.”

Q: We all know about his arm strength. He’s missed long several times. Is that just a matter of experience?

LINDSEY: “That’s a good question. I think sometimes it’s the type of throw that he needs, the trajectory is what I’m talking about. Sometimes the throw calls for a back shoulder type throw to a big body on a good matchup like Bryson or so forth. Then sometimes, the coverage is, 'hey, we want to throw the ball high and over the top,’ and maybe some of that is experience. Although in practice, he gets reps of that. I know he was disappointed himself on a couple of those for sure and at the end of the day in college football, you got to make contested catches, you have to win versus man coverage, and we had some opportunities where we didn’t execute. I think he’ll learn from it, grow from it, and we got to give those guys opportunities to get their hands on the ball.”