Mack Brown has a decision to make… or does he?

In a spring game hampered by unsatisfying formats, chilly temperatures and almost as many guys sitting out as playing, Carolina football was left with the same question that apparently won’t be answered until summer training camp, if ever.

Who’s the quarterback?

Jacolby Criswell and Drake Maye split the snaps and had comparative stats. Brown says that is indicative of just how similar the 6-foot Criswell and 6-5 Maye are. Both have quick releases, can throw the deep ball accurately and, despite their size differential, can run equally well.

And, if bad luck befalls either of them, Mack will need both.

Few college quarterbacks are as durable as three-year star Sam Howell, who missed one game as a precaution for a sore shoulder. He could have played if it weren’t a gimme over Wofford. In that 34-14 win, Criswell got more snaps (24 to 13), but Maye had slightly better stats and each was responsible for a touchdown.

They have been neck-and-neck ever since in the battle to succeed Howell. Criswell, an under-the-radar recruit from Arkansas, and Maye, from a decorated Tar Heel family in Charlotte and one-time commit to Alabama, both could very well play, which Brown has done occasionally at UNC and Texas.

That may be okay for Phil Longo’s offense, which would not change no matter who was under center, and be a safe harbor for the Tar Heels should either QB get injured. Right now, the “third stringer” is 6-1 true freshman talent Conner Harrell.

And because of the weird COVID and transfer rules in college sports, it also would not be a career backslide for whoever lost the job this coming season to go somewhere else.

This will be Criswell’s third academic year at UNC and, due to COVID giving varsity athletes an extra season, he would still have two or three at another school. And Maye is a redshirt freshman with three more years to play.

Howell was so tough he seemed invincible, but Criswell or Maye could have stepped in last fall. Brown needs both in 2022, just in case, to keep the season from falling into the hands of a total stranger.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Helen McGinnis

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