Mack Brown calls Garrett Shrader one of the toughest quarterbacks he has seen

North Carolina is fresh off of their bye week following an impressive 4-0 start to the season, and after some much-needed rest following a tough opening schedule, the Tar Heels host the Syracuse Orange this Saturday.

Syracuse just suffered their first loss of the season in their most recent matchup against Clemson, and will be looking to get back on the winning side of things against North Carolina, and if they are to do so, Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader will likely have a lot to do with it.

Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown spoke about Shrader ahead of the matchup on Monday, highlighting his physical presence and the challenge he presents to defenders.

“Their quarterback Garrett Shrader is 6’4, 225 [pounds] and he can run over you,” Brown said. “You start trying to figure out, he doesn’t slide much, so as you’re getting ready to hit him if he slides and you hit him it’s a penalty. If you think he’s gonna slide at 6’4, 225 he will run right over you. He’s one of the toughest quarterbacks I’ve ever seen. So he’ll be a real challenge.”

Shrader was a four-star prospect coming out of Charlotte Christian High School as a part of the 2019 class, making Saturday’s game a homecoming of sorts for the North Carolina native. He was ranked the No. 15 quarterback in his recruiting class and the No. 292 overall prospect according to On3’s Industry Ranking.

Mississippi State was Shrader’s school of choice coming out of high school, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Syracuse ahead of the 2021 season. He took over as the team’ starting quarterback four games into his first season at Syracuse and the rest is history, as he now is in the midst of his third season at the helm as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC.

There’s no question that North Carolina will have to account for the legs of Shrader, who currently ranks seventh in the ACC and second amongst the conference’s quarterbacks in rushing yards with 340 this season along with six rushing scores. He’s been getting it done with his arm as well, ranking fifth in the ACC in passing yards right behind Carolina’s Drake Maye with 1,148 yards on the season and eight passing touchdowns to his name as well.

Both defenses will respectfully have their hands full as they try to bottle up two talented dual threat quarterbacks in this matchup, as UNC and Syracuse square off this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in a game airing on ESPN.