CHAPEL HILL - For the third time in six seasons, North Carolina enters spring practice with a quarterback competition headlining the position battles.
While spring camp began last Tuesday, the competition between Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell has been almost four months in the making.
On November 29, before Drake Maye had even announced his intention to enter the 2024 NFL Draft, Johnson had committed to Mack Brown and the Tar Heels via the transfer portal.
After Maye’s departure in December, Harrell took over as QB1 for North Carolina’s bowl game against West Virginia, leaving the two signal callers on a collision course for an eventual starting job battle.
Johnson referenced the pedigree of past Tar Heel quarterbacks, including Maye, Sam Howell, and Mitch Trubisky, as his reason for transferring to Chapel Hill, while Harrell hopes to become the next NFL product out of UNC's quarterback room.
Aside from their obvious difference in throwing arms, with Johnson left-handed and Harrell right-handed, another distinct, and perhaps noteworthy, contrast sticks out: their experience.
Johnson spent two seasons each at Texas A&M and LSU, combining to throw for 5,853 yards, 47 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 474 of his 784 passes (60.5 percent).
In total, Johnson has appeared in 30 games, including 22 starts between the SEC programs.
“He’s been a starter at LSU and a starter at Texas A&M. He’s won some huge games and he’s been hit,” said Brown last week. "He’s played at the highest level so that’s a lot [and] that’s a huge positive.”
In 2023, the 6-foot-5 signal caller appeared in eight games at Texas A&M before suffering a season-ending injury, tallying 1,452 passing yards to go along with nine passing touchdowns and five interceptions.
“I’ve thrown for a lot of 300-yard games, one 400-yard game. But I think just being able to lead, honestly, is the most important thing,” said Johnson. “Whether that’s throwing for 80 yards and winning a game, I don’t think it matters how many yards you throw for, how many touchdowns you throw for, as long as you win the game, I think that’s honestly the biggest thing.”
On the other side of the Tar Heels’ quarterback battle is Harrell, who has yet to throw for 300 yards for his career.
Unlike Johnson, the missing puzzle piece for Harrell is game experience. Over two seasons in Chapel Hill, he has appeared in just four contests, all of which came in 2023.
Harrell finished 22-for-33 in the air, throwing for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 75 yards and one score.
His lone start came in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia, where he finished 18-for-27 with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-10 loss.
“I feel like I can do everything,” said Harrell last December. “I’m athletic, I can throw, [and] I can make every throw on the field. I can throw it deep, whatever.”
As Brown and the Tar Heel staff planned on adding to their quarterback room, they were up front with Harrell, who instead of shying away and heading to the portal, embraced the impending battle.
“Conner is an unbelievable young person. He’s never griped about not playing. He’s Mr. Positive,” said Brown. “When we told him we were going to bring a quarterback in, he said ‘I got it. I’m going to compete, Coach, and do the best that I can do.’”
The last two quarterback competitions under Brown have ended with legendary careers for Howell and Maye, who will both soon be on NFL rosters.
“It’ll be a great competition this spring watching both of them,” said Brown. “We’re planning on both of them competing head-to-head for the starting job. That’ll be fun to watch.”
North Carolina will take part in the maximum allowed 15 spring practices before capping off it's schedule with the spring game on April 20 inside Kenan Stadium.
The clash between Johnson and Harrell may last up until the season opener on Aug. 29 against Minnesota, but the next month will go a long way in determining what the Tar Heels have under center.
