Who will be UNC's starting QB after Max Johnson's season-ending injury? Tar Heels' quarterback depth chart explored

The North Carolina Tar Heels secured a 19-17 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on August 29 but suffered a significant blow with an injury to starting quarterback Max Johnson. It was confirmed on Friday that he suffered a broken right leg and will miss the remainder of the 2024 college football season.

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Who will the North Carolina Tar Heels have as their new starting quarterback?

Conner Harrell was slated to be the team's backup quarterback for the 2024 season coming into Thursday's game. He is now slated to become the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

After the game, North Carolina coach Mack Brown discussed his feelings after seeing Max Johnson go down.

"I hate that Max got hurt for him and for us. Conner [has] got to come on." h/t ESPN

When coming into the game as the backup quarterback, Conner Harrell did not show much to be excited about. Harrell went just 2-of-4 for 34 yards.

It appeared that legendary coach Mack Brown did not want to put much pressure on his quarterback and changed his playcalling, electing to call a heavy amount of rushing plays instead of making Harrell throw the football.

With Harrell now being the starting quarterback for North Carolina, Brown is going to need to depend on his quarterback to make the necessary throws, otherwise this can wind up being a lost season.

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What does this mean for the North Carolina Tar Heels?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are going to be viewed on a completely different level than what they were heading into the game. North Carolina does not have a strong schedule and that could have helped them stay near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.

However, it is difficult to imagine North Carolina being among the top handful of teams in the ACC, given the conference's strength and the significant injury they are dealing with.