Ironically, the UNC quarterback situation may have cleared up.

Mitch Trubisky makes his first start for the Chicago Bears tonight, and for Tar Heel fans it is must-see TV. But on a special edition of John Gruden’s Quarterback Camp, Trubisky talked about the frustration of having to back up Marquise Williams for two years while waiting for his chance to start.

Carolina may have avoided a similar situation despite Chazz Surratt’s poor play of late. The way he started the season, Surratt looked like Larry Fedora’s QB of the future. Except that Fedora had a commitment from a big 4-star quarterback out of Arizona, who may have been impressed by Trubisky’s journey when he told Fedora he was coming.

Despite a dreadful offensive performance against Notre Dame, the rainy weekend might have a silver lining. The Arizona kid visited Oregon and later de-committed from Carolina, tweeting out a message that his decision to join the Ducks program is final. So it appears Surratt won’t be looking over his shoulder next season when the Tar Heels try to restock and retool the Fed Spread.

Clearly, Surratt’s struggles of late aren’t all his fault. The offensive playbook has been limited since the loss of Austin Proehl and other receivers on Carolina’s ungodly list of season-ending injuries. With six games remaining in graduate transfer Brandon Harris’ college career, it makes no sense to give him the reps that will benefit Surratt for next season and beyond.

Realistically, these Tar Heels do not look like a bowl team. Winning any of the next five ACC games will be a challenge considering how depleted the squad is. The only advantage of having to use so many green players is that they will gain experience before their time, and that will make Carolina better in years to come.

Surratt has to be part of that mix. Taking so many lumps will drive him to improve his game and be a better quarterback with more help. And at this point, at least, he won’t have to endure the second-guessing about another hot-shot recruit who would have created the same kind of speculation and buzz that Trubisky did when he arrived on campus.