UNC Needs Harrell To Improve Quickly
For Tar Heels To Be Ready For ACC Slate
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
When North Carolina turned to backup quarterback Conner Harrell last December, after star QB Drake Maye opted out of the Tar Heels’ bowl game against West Virginia, the results weren’t pretty.
In his first college start, at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, Harrell managed only 224 yards of total offense, threw two interceptions (one in the end zone), suffered a whopping seven sacks, and was at least partly involved in five penalties (intentional grounding, false starts, etc.) during the Heels’ ugly 30-10 defeat.
In the second half, when Carolina was shut out, only two of the team’s possessions ended on West Virginia’s side of the 50-yard line.
Harrell’s challenge against the unranked Mountaineers was complicated by the absence of a handful of key teammates, whether because of opt-outs (starting center Corey Gaynor and star wide receiver Tez Walker), injuries (tight end Jon Copenhaver, tight end Bryson Nesbit and wide receiver Kobe Paysour) or early jumps into the transfer portal (numerous backups).
At the same time, West Virginia was missing several key players on defense, and Harrell did have the benefit of being surrounded by All-American running back Omarion Hampton, four starters on a very experienced offensive line, and most of the same wideouts who make up this year’s Carolina receiving corps.
While Harrell definitely showed his remarkable athleticism and running ability (17 carries for 74 yards before subtractions for sacks) against the Mountaineers, including raw speed and quick acceleration rarely seen from any UNC quarterback, he simply didn’t look comfortable on most passing plays. Sometimes his throwing accuracy was poor, sometimes his timing was off, sometimes he improvised from the designed play too quickly, and sometimes he held the ball far too long and took a sack.
With 2024 UNC starting quarterback Max Johnson now lost for the season, after suffering a broken leg in last week’s season-opening 19-17 Carolina victory at Minnesota, the Tar Heels will need a much better version of Harrell now that they’ve been forced to turn to him once more.
To his credit, in the Heels’ comeback win over the Golden Gophers, Harrell did make one very big play.
Trailing 17-16 with only 3:40 left in the fourth quarter, Carolina took over at its own 25-yard line. After a 13-yard run by Hampton, Harrell found wideout JJ Jones wide-open for a short completion along the left sideline, and Jones turned it into a game-changing 32-yard gain.
Three plays later, UNC kicker Noah Burnette completed his sensational night by converting a 45-yard field goal to give the Tar Heels a 19-17 advantage.
After All-Big Ten kicker Dragan Kesich pulled a last-second field goal attempt from 47 yards — his second uncharacteristic miss of the night — Carolina was able to fly back to Chapel Hill with a 1-0 record.
Johnson, meanwhile, stayed in a Minneapolis hospital to recover from his injury. He’s not expected to be back in Chapel Hill for another week or two.
That means, once again, Harrell will be asked to be The Guy, as the Tar Heels head into a seemingly manageable three-game homestand against Charlotte (0-1), NC Central (a Football Championship Subdivision team) and James Madison (1-0).
“When you’re not The Guy, it’s hard to feel like you’re The Guy,” UNC coach Mack Brown said Monday. “And (Harrell) has been told, ‘You go do it.’ And the team’s been told, ‘Rally around your new quarterback, and let’s go, let’s make this work.’”
UNC’s revised QB pecking order comprises Harrell as the starter, Arkansas transfer Jacolby Criswell (a fifth-year senior and former Tar Heel with only 58 college passing attempts) as the backup, and true freshman Michael Merdinger (a three-star prospect who enrolled in January) as the third-stringer.
“We’ll start over,” Brown said. “We’ve had hard discussions since Thursday about who we need to be now. What’s our personality going to be? What’s our identity going to be?
“We’re going to be a physical, running football team with play-action. That hasn’t changed. What we have to do is figure out how to create more explosives in the passing game.”
Unlike Maye, who famously committed to Alabama as a prominent prep prospect, flipped his pledge to UNC, set numerous records for the Tar Heels and now plays in the National Football League, Harrell was not recruited at the highest level during his high school career.
Although he was a two-time state champion, a first-team all-state selection and a team captain with a 24-1 record as the starting quarterback for Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala., near Birmingham, Harrell was not recruited heavily by any of the high-profile Southeastern Conference programs.
Harrell ultimately took official visits to Arizona State, Northwestern and UNC before signing with the Tar Heels.
Now a 6-foot-2, 210-pound redshirt sophomore, Harrell still must prove he can effectively manage the Tar Heels’ passing offense, something he struggled with against West Virginia last season and again during spring drills and preseason practice this year.
One year ago, the two Atlantic Coast Conference teams with the least effective quarterback play, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, finished 4-8 and 3-9, respectively.
Similarly, the two in-state teams with truly atrocious 2023 quarterback play, Charlotte and East Carolina, finished 3-9 and 2-10, respectively.
As long as Harrell improves significantly and gains confidence against Charlotte, NC Central and JMU, the Tar Heels should be able to avoid a similar fate.
Carolina’s ACC slate, which begins Sept. 28 at Duke, also includes home matchups against Georgia Tech, NC State, Pitt and Wake Forest, plus trips to Boston College, Florida State and Virginia.
For now, though, the Tar Heels’ focus is on beating Charlotte … and maximizing Harrell’s chance of rising well above last year’s bowl disaster.
“Our goal is to build the offense around (Harrell’s) strengths,” UNC offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said. “He’s got a big arm. He can throw the ball down the field. The more he plays, the more confidence I think he’ll play with.”
