The post-Sam Howell era began in earnest Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium, as the Tar Heels took the field on an unseasonably chilly day for their annual spring game, named #TyleeStrong in honor of receiver Tylee Craft, who recently announced a cancer diagnosis.

And while No. 7 wasn’t suiting up at quarterback for Carolina for the first time in three years, some familiar names still asserted themselves throughout the afternoon. Rising junior wide receiver Josh Downs, a member of last season’s All-ACC first team, caught two touchdown passes during the game, one from rising sophomore quarterback Drake Maye and one from rising junior Jacolby Criswell. Maye, Criswell and freshman Conner Harrell split most of the snaps at quarterback.

Maye finished 9-12 through the air for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Criswell was an efficient 6-6 for 104 yards and a score.

“I thought all three quarterbacks… did really well,” said head coach Mack Brown. “Conner Harrell’s got a quick arm, and he’s very accurate and he can run. And we know that Drake and Jacolby are both really good. And you can see that they’re a whole lot alike.

“We will not separate them until fall,” Brown went on. “And we may need both of them. And we’ll just continue to work with that, because they’re both inexperienced.”

Maye and Criswell have a combined one start between them (against Wofford last season) entering 2022. In that game, Criswell got the start in the first half before Maye came in for the second. Brown has been steadily non-committal between the two signal-callers, so unless something radical changes between now and August, this fall will usher in the first true quarterback competition of the Mack Brown 2.0 era in Chapel Hill.

The uncertainty under center makes veterans around the offense even more important. Downs, who suddenly finds himself in a leadership position in just his second season as a starter, seemed prepared to take it on, catching four passes for 95 yards and the two aforementioned touchdowns.

“I always try to give them a comfortable outlet,” Downs said of the two quarterbacks. “I always tell them, ‘Worst comes to worst, I’ve always got you. Even if I’m covered, just throw it. It won’t be a pick. It’ll most likely be a catch.'”

Unlike the wide receiver position, running back finds itself with an abundance of riches heading into 2022. The return of veteran British Brooks, who burst onto the scene late last season, gives Carolina more depth in a position room which already features D.J. Jones, Elijah Green, Caleb Hood and Kamarro Edmonds, as well as incoming freshmen George Pettaway and Omarion Hampton. While Hampton has not yet arrived on campus, Pettaway rushed for 16 yards on four carries and caught two passes in the game.

“He’s a lot stronger than he looks, because he’s so quick,” Brown said of Pettaway. “People think he’s slight. He’s got a really strong lower body. And he’s run over some people this spring.”

But it wasn’t Pettaway, Jones or even Brooks who led the team in rushing during the game. Instead, the rising sophomore Green impressed with nine rushes for 61 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for just 39 yards during the entire 2021 season.

The spring game also saw the official Kenan Stadium debuts of heralded freshmen Zach Rice on the offensive line and Travis Shaw on the defensive line. Rice and Shaw are both five-star signees and part of UNC’s 2022 recruiting class which ranks among the best in the nation. Shaw finished with one total tackle, while Rice notably started with the first team on the offensive line.

Ultimately, Team Tar Heels won 20-8 over Team Carolina. In a game where much of the attention was focused on the offensive side of the ball, new coordinator Gene Chizik’s defense didn’t make any huge plays during the afternoon, but did pick off reserve quarterback Jefferson Boaz toward the end of the game. Defensive end Desmond Evans, who did not record a sack in all of 2021, notched “sacks” (those plays are blown dead as soon as a defender touches the quarterback) on consecutive plays.

“The defense in a spring game is at a huge disadvantage,” Brown said. “We had three calls on defense today, and normally we’d have a lot. But also, it gives us a great opportunity to see who can get off blocks without scheming.”

The spring game is the culmination of the team’s spring practice sessions, and is the last time fans will get a look at the team before its home opener this August against Florida A&M. While the hype and buzz around the Tar Heels is certainly not at the level it was last year or the year before, Brown seemed pleased with the results of the game and of the spring season as a whole.

“By and large, I think it’s exactly what we wanted,” he said. “I didn’t see anybody get hurt. I thought they played hard. I thought they were organized. I felt good about the structure of the game.”

With much of the talk around campus still centering on Hubert Davis and the men’s basketball team, it’s possible the football team can now return to where it’s been for most of its existence: second fiddle. That’s how it was when Brown first arrived in Chapel Hill, and by the time he left UNC was a regular in the top 10 of the national polls. Hoping for those heights in 2022 is probably a bit ambitious, but a more positive season than the bitterly disappointing 2021 campaign doesn’t seem like much to ask.

Only four months to go.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Helen McGinnis


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