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Mack Brown needs to lower expectations but doesn’t seem to know how.
The Carolina football coach made his first official preseason comments at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. He had a great opportunity to downplay the sixth Tar Heel team of his second stint at UNC and just couldn’t do it.
When asked how he would replace Drake Maye, the All-American No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft, he said the relatively unknown candidates to replace Maye are ready to play. He easily could have said, “They will decide that in training camp,” like he did before Maye won the job the last week before the opening game of his red-shirt freshman year after beating out Jacolby Criswell in a close race.
Brown said the 2024 Heels might have a chance to reach that so-far unreachable 10-win plateau. “With Drake and Sam [Howell], we were trying to win the Heisman Trophy and throw the ball on every down.”
Then he said, “Your new face is Omarion (Hampton),” the All-ACC leading rusher last season with more than 1,500 yards, many made possible by Maye spreading out the defense. Brown explained, “We feel like both quarterbacks can play.”
Brown did say that Hampton’s 253 carries last season were too many and that they will depend more on back-ups Caleb Hood, Darwin Barlow and freshman Davion Gause to spell the Big O.
And Carolina WILL run the ball even more this season, according to Brown, who wants more balance on offense but has to figure out how much his two or three quarterbacks will play even though Conner Harrell has more experience at UNC than Max Johnson, who transferred from Texas A&M, and Criswell, who returned from Arkansas.
Without Maye, aren’t defenses going to pack the box until Harrell or Johnson (or Criswell) prove they can complete some one-on-one throws downfield and force drop coverage in the secondary?
Brown talks about hitting the wall after starting 9-1 and 6-0 the last two years. They can do that with another soft schedule in September, but finishing better is what the fan base is looking for and would be delighted about if that happens. So even if the Tar Heels lose early, we will be pulling for them to play the second half of the season well enough to challenge for the ACC championship or make a prestigious bowl game.
Maybe Brown was projecting what will happen this season under second-year OC Chip Lindsey when he said, “We think we have a chance to be better without Drake,” dangling those expectations again.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
