CHARLOTTE – Media Day for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl took place Tuesday morning at the Charlotte Convention Center, and among the four North Carolina players available was redshirt freshman quarterback Conner Harrell.
The Tar Heels meet West Virginia for a 5:30 PM kickoff Wednesday at Bank of America Stadium. The game will air on ESPN.
THI spoke with Harrell discussing the importance of the team finishing the season on a strong note, his readiness for his first career start, spending two weeks as QB1, the opportunity and more.
Above is video of Harrell’s interview, and below is the transcript of what he had to say:
*When we spoke with Conner Harrell two weeks ago, he outlined his daily routine, which includes making his bed each day. So, such a pressing question had to be asked Tuesday: Has he made it every day since, and does he also do it in hotel rooms?
“A hotel is different. Obviously, they have people come in. I don’t know if I want to make… I did think about that. I was like, ‘do I?’ So yeah, I feel like a hotel is different.”
*Harrell says he is getting into the groove of being QB1 and all that comes with it.
“Yeah, I’m settled in. I think the guys have confidence in me. I’ve had a good two weeks, so I’m excited to play.”
*Mack Brown is calling this the opportunity bowl, and nobody has a bigger opportunity Wednesday night than Harrell. But there is a fine line for Harrell: He’s going to think about it a lot, but does he need to guarding against doing it so much he psych himself out.
“Definitely an opportunity for me. I need to take advantage of every one I get. I wouldn’t say I think about it too much. At the end of the day, I’ve just got to just go out there and execute the game plan. There’s a lot of outside stuff, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what we do in practice and just go out there playing and have fun.”
*Harrell’s skills are different from Drake Maye’s. They are two different players, so UNC fans need to understand the offense will look different. Some of it has been tailored to Harrell’s talents the last couple of weeks.
“That’s what you want to do that’s when anybody does in the offense, they want it tailored to their players’ skills. And I think we’ve done that, (but) that hasn’t been too much of a change. But we’ve been able to tailor it to new receiver’s skills, my skills, and o-line skills.”
*The easiest part of being QB1 for Harrell the last two weeks?
“I feel like Coach (Chip) Lindsey coaches the same whether I’m first or second string. So, I guess the pressure of being first or second is similar. You don’t want to make a mistake as a backup as much as you want to make a mistake as a starter. It’s elevated, obviously. But always trying to be the best you can be and the best part I can be every day no matter whether I’m starting or not so.”
*Harrell said he’s most looking forward to playing with his teammates and in front of his family. He said 23 people will make the six-hour drive from Alabaster, AL, which is in the Birmingham metro area.
Harrell needed to do some bartering to get 23 tickets.
“We get six tickets, so I had to do a lot of texting with teammates to get one here, two there.”
Does he have to make trades, like washing someone’s car or gear?
“They’re usually guys that have like five family members coming. And also, the new freshmen. They’re for fun, they don’t have as much family coming.”
*No nerves for Harrell knowing he has 23 people coming to watch him play. Quite the contrary.
“It helps me know that I’ve got a lot of support behind me and a lot of people coming to watch me play.”
