After Two Transfers, Four-Plus Seasons Of Waiting,
UNC’s Criswell Finally Showcases “Moneymaker” Arm
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
Jacolby Criswell has had one of the most unusual career paths of any player in North Carolina football history.
He signed with the Tar Heels out of high school, spent three years in Chapel Hill, transferred away for one year, then transferred back for the 2024 campaign.
He originally was buried on the UNC depth chart behind Sam Howell and Drake Maye, two of the best quarterbacks in Carolina history. Upon his return this summer, he again was stuck behind two players, Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and Maye’s 2023 backup, Conner Harrell.
At the ACC’s annual football media event in July, both Johnson and Harrell were among the five players who represented the Tar Heels in Charlotte, implying that one or both would play very big roles for Carolina this fall.
Whenever Criswell’s name was mentioned, it typically was in the context of a well-liked teammate who enjoyed his first tenure in Chapel Hill, wanted to complete his college career at the place he considered “home,” and was content to be the Heels’ “Break Glass In Case Of Emergency” option behind center.
Criswell rarely played during his first three seasons with the Tar Heels, then rarely played during his one season at Arkansas, yet he spoke this summer of wanting to reach the National Football League, despite knowing at the time that he was behind Johnson and Harrell in UNC’s revised QB pecking order.
“I know my right arm is one of the best in the country, 100 percent,” Criswell said. “This is the moneymaker right here, so it’s like one of those things I am not going to let it go to waste.”
When Criswell said those words, in mid-July, they seemed a bit out of place, in part because he didn’t even go through 2024 spring practice with the Tar Heels.
Whereas most incoming transfers arrive at their new school in January, after the NCAA’s first transfer portal window, Criswell didn’t make his decision until the end of April, after spring drills had concluded. UNC’s original projected third-string QB, freshman Tad Hudson, had announced in mid-April, after spring practice, that he was leaving the program. (He ended up at Coastal Carolina.) That left the UNC coaches desperately searching for more QB depth.
Criswell had appeared in only four games for Arkansas last season, three in a mop-up role. After the Razorbacks’ starting QB was injured during a November game against Missouri, Criswell completed 12 of 20 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, but also lost three fumbles and was sacked five times, in his team’s 48-14 home loss to the nationally ranked Tigers. That marked the first extended playing time against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent of his entire four-year college career, and it didn’t go particularly well.
Fast forward to this season. When Johnson suffered a broken leg in Carolina’s season opener at Minnesota, Criswell — with just one month of preseason practice under his belt — became the Tar Heels’ second-string QB. Two weeks later, after Harrell struggled early in the North Carolina Central game, Criswell and star running back Omarion Hampton rescued the Heels’ offense and ultimately led a 45-10 victory.
“(Criswell) has made tremendous progress,” UNC offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said last week. “He got here late in the summer, and he got a lot of reps in fall camp early, but then you had to start getting ready for the first game, and we just felt like at that time, Conner and Max were ahead of him from the standpoint of reps and the offense and so forth.
“What I’ve seen, especially since Max went down, not that he wasn’t preparing before, I’ve seen a bigger sense of urgency probably on his part.”
Last week, Criswell became Carolina’s starter, for the James Madison game. The Tar Heels lost in ugly fashion, 70-50, but Criswell put on quite a show. Although he also made some big mistakes, including a pick-six interception late in the first half, he showed far more ability to throw the ball downfield, often with pinpoint accuracy, than either Johnson or Harrell had displayed in the Heels’ first three games of the season.
Criswell completed 28 of 48 passes against JMU for 475 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also was sacked three times and often pressured behind the Tar Heels’ extremely inexperienced offensive line, which has had problems with pass protection all season.
Criswell even spread the ball around to 11 different receivers, led by veteran wideouts Kobe Paysour (four catches, 93 yards) and JJ Jones (five catches, 86 yards) and veteran tight ends Bryson Nesbit (four catches, 71 yards, touchdown) and John Copenhaver (three catches, 62 yards, touchdown). Talented freshman wide receiver Jordan Shipp also had a TD catch.
Criswell’s 475 passing yards in the JMU game were far more than he had in the first four seasons of his college career combined (347). The only bigger single-game passing numbers in UNC history came from Howell (550 against Wake Forest in 2020) and Marquise Williams (494 against Duke in 2015).
“He made some great throws, just unbelievable throws,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “That’s the first real game he started since he’s been here. … He’ll just get better and better. And he saw a whole lot of looks; they blitzed him a whole lot. He was the one bright spot, for sure.”
The list of college football players whose ultimate breakthrough didn’t come until midway through his fifth college football season can’t possibly be a long one, but Criswell hopes to add his name to that group in the coming weeks.
Next up: Duke in Durham on Saturday (4 pm, ESPN2). The Blue Devils are off to a 4-0 start under first-year coach Manny Diaz, in large part because they have given up an average of only 15.3 points per game so far this season. Diaz has been a very successful defensive coordinator during his time as an assistant coach, including the past two seasons at Penn State.
However, none of Duke’s first four opponents this season — Elon, Northwestern, UConn and Middle Tennessee State — has a winning record right now, and none is known for its dynamic offense.
Thanks to Hampton, and now — perhaps — Criswell, the 3-1 Tar Heels should provide the Blue Devils with their toughest challenge of the season in that regard.
