Mack Brown on UNC Football quarterback situation: "We'll be playing both of them"

We're back to square one...

Ever since Drake Maye entered the 2024 NFL Draft, the UNC football program has had a quarterback controversary.

Max Johnson was brought in as a transfer and began the year as the team's starter, only to suffer a season-ending injury in his Tar Heel debut.

Conner Harrell replaced Johnson and had some strong moments in the win against Charlotte, but mightily struggled against NC Central.

Jacolby Criswell earned the chance to see the field and made things happen in the win over NC Central. It was obvious that Criswell was much more comfortable in the pocket than Harrell, who made some disastrous throws that were lucky to not be intercepted.

Following Saturday night's victory, there are still plenty of questions surrounding this UNC football team, with the quarterback situation at the forefront of those issues. After the game, Mack Brown provided some intel on to what the Tar Heels are planning to do moving forward.

Brown indicated that North Carolina plans to play both quarterbacks, which was the game plan heading into Saturday's contest. It was a surprise at first, especially since it seemed like Harrell may have suffered an injury following a big hit on third down (a drive that the Tar Heels got the ball right back from after NC Central muffed a punt).

Let's all remember what the legendary John Madden once said, "If you have two quarterbacks, you have none."

It was evident that Criswell was the better option of the two at this current point. Could this change? Sure, but the Tar Heels are probably better off keeping the veteran on the field at this rate.

Saturday is also very eye-opening, as it makes sense why Brown and the Tar Heels staff were so focused on adding multiple quarterbacks via the transfer portal this offseason. Many questioned whether it was the right decision to start Max Johnson out of the gate, but in reality, the better question should've been whether or not Harrell was ready to be a starter.

Based on Saturday night, I think we now have the answer to that question. The bigger question is how the Tar Heels will handle the quarterback position moving forward.