CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina fans got a chance to see a preview of its quarterback battle that will come this spring between Jacolby Criswell and Drake Maye in the Tar Heels’ 34-14 victory over Wofford on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
Sam Howell, the regular Carolina starter and the owner of most every passing record in school history, was not in uniform because of an upper body injury, so Criswell and Maye took the snaps, their first significant ones of the season.
Criswell got the starting nod. The Arkansas native orchestrated the offense for the first half and Maye took over after halftime.
Criswell efficiently started the game by completing his first three passes of the game. After that, however, the redshirt freshman struggled throwing the ball downfield, going 0-for-4 on passes that traveled 20 yards or more in the air. Nevertheless, Criswell finished the first half completing 11 passes on 19 attempts, and exited the game with 125 passing yards but no touchdowns.
He also ran the ball five times for 66 yards and a score for an average of 8.3 yards per attempt and leading UNC to a 20-7 first-half lead.
Though Criswell's performance wasn't perfect, he was pleased with not only his performance but the performance of the team.
"Of course, my first start, I was a little rusty, said Criswell. "But for the most part, I am really happy with how the guys performed, not just me but for all the seniors. I'm happy with the way they performed tonight. I did the best I could do to my ability, I missed some throws here and there, which I wish I could take back 100 percent, but after that play, you have to have the mindset of next play."
Maye, a true freshman who had taken five snaps all season before Saturday, led the second half.
The former Alabama commit finished 7 of 9 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown in three drives. He also ran the ball four times for 38 yards. Maye had a few eye-popping throws, with at least two of his completions on the sideline, while thrown from the opposite hash mark.
In addition, the freshman quarterback had a 46-yard completion to fellow freshman JJ Jones, marking a career-long completion for Jones and Maye. With Maye's senior year of high school moved until this past spring due to the effects from COVID-19, he hadn’t thrown a pass in a game for two years because he enrolled at UNC last January. His last live pass November 29, 2019, against a Richmond County led by then quarterback-turned-UNC running back Caleb Hood.
With this long pause in action, Maye was happy to get back to doing what he loves.
"I tried to go out there and make the most of every possession and have fun,” Maye said. " I hadn't got hit since my high school days almost two years ago, so it just felt good to be out there."
With one half of football for each quarterback on Saturday, UNC Coach Mack Brown still has trouble separating his two talented signal callers.
"I thought both guys did a good job,” said Brown. "(Offensive coordinator and QB coach Phil) Coach Longo and I will look at the film. Hopefully, we won't need them to play in a critical role the next two games now that we are guaranteed a bowl game.
“This will be a great experience for those guys going into next year, and when we open up against Florida A&M, they will at least know how it feels to be out there."
With no separation created Saturday night between the two quarterbacks, Brown and the coaching staff are prepared to enter the offseason with a battle for the most important position on the field. They know it will be the talk of the spring and summer among media and fans.
"We've got a perfect set up for a quarterback controversy,” Brown explained. "Everybody loves that, and it cant be better than that for next year. It will give us something to talk about. We are not going to talk about high rankings or high expectations. I can tell you that."
No matter the winner of the offseason quarterback battle, both players showed flashes of potential that have the coaching staff and fans alike excited.
