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CHAPEL HILL- North Carolina fans got their first glimpse of the 2022 UNC football team when the Tar Heels held their annual spring football game Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium.
In honor of junior wide receiver Tylee Craft, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, the football program formally named the event the #TyleeStrong Spring Football Game. Before the event, UNC recognized Craft and other cancer patients for the fight they are currently facing.
Defensively, the Tar Heels had a solid showing, with both teams getting to the quarterback a combined four times. Junior defensive end Des Evans led the way with two sacks. UNC Coach Mack Brown noted that the competition between the offense and defense was unfair because the defense only ran three plays the entire game. So, he didn’t put as much stock into the actual scoring of the game, a system used that is different than simple touchdowns and field goals.
While a lot of people are excited to see the differences in the defensive scheme, the biggest story is the quarterback competition between Drake Maye and Jacolby Criswell. According to Brown, the spring game provided no separation between the talented duo, and the competition is likely to go into the fall.
"We know that both Drake and Jacolby are really good, and you can see that they are a whole lot alike," Brown said. " We will not separate them until fall, and we might need both of them. And we will continue to work with that because they are both inexperienced."
Looking at the box score, it's easy to see why the Carolina coaching staff has difficulty identifying their first-string quarterback and second-string signal-caller. Both players participated on "Team Carolina" and "Team Tar Heels".
Criswell went an impressive 6-for-6 and104 yards and a touchdown. However, Maye was not to be outdone. The Charlotte native finished the afternoon going 9-for-12, 113 yards, and a touchdown pass.
Team Carolina started the scoring with a five-play, 72-yard drive, led by Criswell, a redshirt freshman since he gets the COVID year back and only appeared in four games last season, so he technically hasn’t used a year of eligibility yet.
A 40-yard strike to first-team All-ACC receiver Josh Downs got team Carolina into the red zone, where the duo connected two plays later for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give team Carolina a 7-0 lead.
After an illegal man downfield took away a 62-yard touchdown connection between Conner Harrell and Kobe Paysour, eventually leading to a Tar Heel punt, Maye quickly took advantage of the mistake when he go back onto the field. The redshirt freshman led an efficient four-play drive capped off with a 38-yard touchdown to Downs for his second scoring grab of the day.
With a proven receiver like Downs, Brown believes having him as a security blanket will be good for both quarterbacks.
"He gives them all kinds of confidence,” Brown explained. "He gets wide open a lot, he can catch, and he competes."
The next scoring drive led by Criswell saw running back D.J. Jones get into the scoring column. The highlight of the drive was a 29-yard pass from Criswell to tight end John Copenhaver that got the offense down to the one-yard line, where Jones ran it in for a score.
The final scoring drive of the day saw Elijah Green, a seldom-used running back last season, break a 61-yard run. Eventually, the run set up Green to end the 10-play drive with a three-yard run in the endzone.
Saturday’s game marked the end of spring practice for the Tar Heels. And while the staff has learned some things about their new team, there are still a lot of questions to be answered as the Heels ramp up going into summer and fall.
Competitions will start to heat up, and we will continue to gain more knowledge if the team as UNC gets closer to its opener on August 27, against Florida A&M.
