Top UNC Football players for 2017: No. 7 Brandon Harris
Keeping It Heel continues its countdown of the top 25 players on the North Carolina Tar Heels roster with player No. 7
#25 Noah Ruggles | #24 Tomon Fox | #23 Jordan Cunningham | #22 Tyler Powell
#21 Brandon Fritts | #20 Jonah Melton | #19 Stanton Truitt | #18 Myles Dorn
#17 Cayson Collins | #16 Michael Carter | #15 Tom Sheldon | #14 JT Cauthen
#13 Aaron Crawford | #12 Johnathon Sutton | #11 Juval Mollette | #10 Jalen Dalton
#9 Donnie Miles | #8 Thomas Jackson
Keeping It Heel is going to continue to count down the weeks until college football season by revealing our list of the top 25 UNC players for the upcoming season.
The college football season kicks off in about seven weeks, and it will be here before we know it.
NFL training camp is still a week away. And with NBA Summer league having come to an end, everyone could use some gridiron action.
So what better way to get into the football mood than getting a sneak peek at the future of the Tar Heels.
Let’s take a look at player No. 7, a transfer quarterback who is looking for redemption on a team looking for a reliable signal caller.
Position: Quarterback
Hometown: Bossier City, Louisiana
High School: Parkway
Last Season: Harris did not have a very good season last year. He only played in two games and completed just 13 of his 25 pass attempts. He finished the season with 139 yards and one touchdown.
In his last game he was pulled early after going 1-for-4 for eight yards in a game against FCS opponent Jacksonville State.
Why he might move up this list: There is a giant hole in the position Mitch Trubisky used to play. Most expected Trubisky to be a two-year starter, including head coach Larry Fedora.
However, a year after posting great numbers and gaining a ton of draft hype, that was no longer the case, and UNC was left without a signal caller.
Enter Harris, who has been compared to former UNC quarterback Marquise Williams. If you compare Harris’ sophomore season to Williams’ junior year, you can see the similarities:
2015 Harris: 149-of-277 pass attempts for 2,165 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also ran 67 times for 226 yards and four touchdowns.
2014 Williams: 270-of-428 pass attempts for 3,068 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also had 193 rush attempts for 768 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Obviously, Williams’ numbers were better, however Harris had a guy named Leonard Fournette in the backfield. The two players are also similar in size (Williams 6-foot-2, 220-pounds, Harris 6-foot-3, 213-pounds).
Additionally, there is a lot of thought that Harris is better designed for Fedora’s spread offense than the pro style system that Harris struggled in at LSU. Fedora even said this much in a recent interview:
"“Very talented and I believe what we do offensively fits him better than what he was doing there…He’s a kid that can beat you with his arm and his legs.”"
If Harris has anywhere near the season Williams had his last two years, the Tar Heels may not be as down as most think they probably will be.
Why he might move down this list: Harris is not guaranteed to start. As a graduate transfer, Harris joined the team most recently and will have a lot of ground to make up.
Nathan Elliot appears to be in the driver’s seat. Fedora may decide to go with a quarterback who knows his system better to start the season, rather than with the new guy who may be more talented.
Additionally, even after Les Miles was fired, the Tigers continued to go with Danny Etling over Harris. Did Harris really just need a fresh start or is there something else there that could keep Harris from breaking through this season as well?
Prediction: Quarterback may be the biggest question mark on this team. This is one of the reasons the team needed a player like Harris to begin with. I am optimistic about Harris, but the fact that he may not start keeps me hesitant to predict a largely successful season.
So instead, let’s takes the difference. Harris finishes the season completing 57 percent of his passes for 2,700 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’ll also be a threat on the ground, rushing for 400 yards and another 10 scores.