Mack Brown plans to continue playing both Conner Harrell, Jacolby Criswell

In a blowout win over FCS North Carolina Central, North Carolina trotted out graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell for 55 offensive snaps and sophomore Conner Harrell for 20 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Harrell got the start, the third of his career.

Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown revealed Monday that Harrell and Criswell will both keep playing.

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“The plan at quarterback will be to continue to play both of them because they have different skill sets,” Brown said, “and [we’ll] just watch them as we go.”

Harrell battled Max Johnson for the starting job this offseason. While Johnson, an LSU and Texas A&M transfer, ultimately got the nod for the opener against Minnesota, he broke his leg, sidelining him for the rest of the year. Since, Harrell has started the last two games, wins over Charlotte and North Carolina Central.

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A dual-threat signal caller, Harrell has carried the ball 14 times, netting 42 yards and finding the end zone in Week 2 against Charlotte. He got his most run versus the 49ers — in a 38-20 victory, he completed 16-of-25 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, in addition to rushing for 39 yards and a score.

Criswell, meanwhile, made his way back to UNC this offseason after spending one season at Arkansas. The Morrilton, Arkansas, native logged a career-high 88 offensive snaps in 2023, per PFF. He appeared in four games, all as a backup, and completed 17-of-27 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns, not to mention the 44 rushing yards he added to his stat line. Previously, Criswell spent the first three seasons of his college career with the Tar Heels, competing with eventual No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye for QB1 ahead of the 2022 season.

Brown was asked Monday if the difference between Harrell and Criswell is greater than the difference between Harrell and Johnson.

“I think it’s pretty much the same,” Brown said. “If you look at Jacolby, he’s a lot like Max, and Conner’s just different than they are. So we’ll still continue to do the same stuff. Jacolby’s just played very little. … So we’re very, very inexperienced at quarterback. We’ve just got to do a great job of coaching those two young guys and build on what they do best.”

Criswell is coming off a nice outing against North Carolina Central, during which he went 14-of-23 for 161 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s really smart. He’s a great student. And he’s got a tremendous arm,” Brown said. “I mean, we all talked about that when he and Drake were competing. He’s got such a quick release. And the couple of throws were unbelievable.”

Brown shouted out a throw toward the UNC boundary Criswell dialed up for senior tight end Bryson Nesbit, as well as a wheel route those two connected on. Plus, Brown mentioned a fourth down hookup between Criswell and redshirt freshman wideout Paul Billups II, calling it a “tremendous throw.”

“So he’s got a great arm,” Brown said. “He just hasn’t played very much. But I thought he responded well. They liked his demeanor on the sideline.”

Criswell will get more opportunities to showcase his arm talent this week against James Madison, as will Harrell, who offers the Tar Heels another weapon on the ground, too.