North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson had season-ending surgery to repair his broken leg this past Friday in Minneapolis. The transfer from Texas A&M sustained the injury during Thursday’s 19-17 win at Minnesota.
The Tar Heels covered the spread as 1.5-point home favorites. The 36 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 53.5-point total.
Johnson won the starting job over Conner Harrell during camp in August. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 71 yards and one interception before going down late in the third quarter.
“I hate that Max got hurt for him and for us. Conner’s got to come on,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said after the victory.
Johnson gave UNC a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter on a three-yard touchdown run. The Tar Heels got four field goals from Noah Burnette in the second half, including a 45-yarder with 1:44 remaining to put them in the lead for good.
Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. Kesich had missed a 27-yarder earlier.
Johnson was making his 23rd career start. He started his career at LSU in 2020, completing 88-of-150 passes (58.7%) for 1,069 yards and eight TDs compared to only one interception.
In 2021, Johnson connected on 225-of-373 throws (60.3%) for 2,814 yards with a 27/6 TD-INT ratio.
When LSU HC Ed Orgeron was fired after the 2021 campaign, Johnson transferred to Texas A&M. He played in just four games for the Aggies due to injuries in 2022, completing 43-of-71 (60.6%) passes for 517 yards and three TDs without an interception.
In 2023, Johnson played in eight games before going down with a season-ending injury. He connected on 118-of-199 throws (62.1%) for 1,452 yards with a 9/5 TD-INT ratio.
When Jimbo Fisher was fired, Johnson and his brother, TE Jake Johnson, transferred to UNC. They are the son of Brad Johnson, who was the starting QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won the Super Bowl in 2003.
Johnson has a 47/13 career TD-INT ratio and six career rushing TDs.
Harrell completed 2-of-4 passes for 34 yards in the win at Minnesota. He played in five games last year as a true freshman and started in a 30-10 loss to West Virginia in the Mayo Bowl.
Harrell completed 22-of-33 passes (66.7%) for 278 yards with a 2/2 TD-INT ratio in 2023. He also had a rushing TD.
Jacolby Criswell now becomes the backup to Harrell. Criswell, a transfer from Arkansas, completed 17-of-27 passes (63.0%) for 143 yards and three TDs without an interception for the Razorbacks last season.
Harrell will make his second career start in Saturday’s home game vs. Charlotte. As of late Monday afternoon, most books had the Tar Heels installed as 22-point home favorites with a total of 48.