For the foreseeable future, the role of QB1 in Chapel Hill is Conner Harrell’s to lose.
Week 1 starter Max Johnson suffered a gruesome broken leg midway through the opener at Minnesota, an injury so severe that Johnson is still in Minneapolis. Third-stringer Jacolby Criswell was a late transfer from Arkansas and is reportedly still in the process of finding his sea legs in his second stint as a Tar Heel.
That leaves Harrell, the redshirt sophomore with one career start under his belt. That came in last season’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl, where Harrell stepped in for the departing Drake Maye in a 30-10 loss to West Virginia.
Harrell’s performance in the second half at Minnesota could best be described as game-managing, in which he only completed two passes and nearly lost a fumble in the fourth quarter. Now, though, he gets to make his first career start in front of a home crowd as Carolina hosts Charlotte in Kenan Stadium.
Nobody needs to be told that going from a Big Ten defense to the 49ers represents a steep decline in the level of the opponent — though head coach Mack Brown will bristle if you bring up the relative weakness of UNC’s next three weeks. But the Hall of Famer was happy to tout Harrell’s ability as more than enough to lead the Tar Heels through the rest of the fall.
“He’s just gotta get confidence and go,” Brown said this week. “It’s his. And when you’re not the guy, it’s hard to feel like you’re the guy. And he’s been told, ‘You’ve got it.’ And the team’s been told, ‘Let’s rally around your new quarterback and let’s go. Let’s make this work.’ And like I said, he’s really good. So it’s time for him to go have fun and play good.”
Harrell was a three-star recruit out of Alabama who chose Carolina over offers from several other notable schools, including Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee. He spent two years as Maye’s back-up before this season.
Though he only has that one career start, Harrell has stuck with the program since enrolling in January of 2022, and since then has earned the confidence and trust of old veterans and newer teammates alike.
“I know he’s definitely been preparing himself the entirety of spring and over the summer,” said fifth-year edge rusher Kaimon Rucker. “He’s done a tremendous job in improving his leadership, being more vocal, bringing guys up. And of course, his work ethic. Staying after practice, getting extra work, whether he was playing or whether he wasn’t. Just being a good leader for everybody, not only in the quarterback room, but also on offense and for the rest of the team. I feel like he’s gonna do a tremendous job.”
“He’s been very confident this week,” said starting center Austin Blaske, fresh off his first career game as a Tar Heel after transferring in from Georgia during the offseason. “We’re letting him know, ‘Hey, we believe in you. You can do this. You’re a great quarterback.’ So I’m really excited about Conner and the opportunity he’s getting. I think he’s gonna do a great job.”
That faith isn’t lost on Harrell, who is decidedly not the star on an offense which includes All-ACC talents like Omarion Hampton and Bryson Nesbit. But football is a team game, and Harrell said the support of his teammates is invaluable as he navigates his new reality.
“Those guys are looking at me in the huddle. I’m looking at them. So it’s great to have confidence in them and for them to have confidence in me,” Harrell said. “It means a lot, knowing they know I can get the job done.”
Now chew on this: the games against West Virginia and Minnesota were Harrell’s two most consequential appearances as a Tar Heel. In the former, he suffered an ankle injury early which hampered his ability to scramble and run. In the latter, he was forced into action midway through the third quarter and had to fly by the seat of his pants. With that in mind, it’s fair to assume that, barring another injury, Saturday’s contest will be the first time Carolina fans get to see the true Conner Harrell for a full game.
You won’t get an argument from the man himself.
“I definitely feel like I haven’t reached my full potential,” he said. “I’ve gotten better from last week, gotten better from last year. So I don’t think I’ve shown the full extent of what I can do, for sure.”
Tar Heel fans have certainly been spoiled at quarterback for the last five years. Expecting NFL-caliber play from Harrell could be too much to ask. But if he can live up to the confidence placed in him by his head coach and his teammates, Kenan Stadium will be happy more often than not this fall.
Featured image via Associated Press/Abbie Parr
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The cool thing is that if Harrell can win 60 percent of his games, he will be right on track with the percentage of wins that “Hall Of Fame” Mack has won the past 10 years, including Mack 2.0 at UNC.
Maybe Conner will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame if he wins 6 or 7 games this year.
And with Charlotte and NCCU coming to town, I like his chances. Thank Goodness we don’t have to go there. Whew!
They’re right up there with previous Mack Brown 2.0 wins like Mercer, Campbell, and Wofford!