No matter which quarterback starts Saturday, both will play half the game.

Mack Brown is expected to name his starting quarterback for the opener against Florida A&M sometime this week, perhaps at today’s press conference. Or Brown may wait for one more practice.

Either way, there is reason to believe that Brown will say “Jacolby Criswell or Drake Maye will start, but both will play about the same number of snaps.”

Brown is a bit of a politician in such matters. Both his young quarterbacks are equally talented, or Brown would have named his starter long ago.

If he did that, the door would have still been open for the non-starter to transfer, although highly unlikely because both were too busy competing for the position than researching possible destination programs.

The big difference between the two that Brown is handling carefully is that Criswell was not as highly recruited as Maye, who first committed to Alabama before Mack got him to flip. Also, Criswell is African-American, which, sad to say, still carries some stigma for quarterbacks at all levels.

Most UNC fans are expecting Maye to win the job because he is a de facto star-in-waiting due to his UNC bloodlines. Father Mark was a star QB here in the 1980s and older brother Luke grew into one of the most popular Tar Heel players over the course of his hoops career.

Some fans are betting on Criswell to start and something like Maye playing the second quarter and then whoever deserves it will take the field after halftime. Brown also has the luxury of a mid-major opponent that his Heels are heavily favored to defeat.

Playing both will give App State a little more to prepare for in next week’s far tougher game in Boone. The same could be said for Georgia State the following Saturday and, two weeks later, Notre Dame when the Irish visit Kenan for the September 24 national headliner.

And there’s always a chance Phil Longo will call on the back-up for special sets and plays in the middle of the game, Maye to come out firing after Criswell has the defense cheating up, or Criswell to run more option after Maye has already splintered the secondary.

We shall see soon enough.

 

Featured image via 247 Sports

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