We are now two weeks into fall camp as we hit the final week before preparations for Minnesota begin. Head coach Mack Brown spoke to the media on Sunday afternoon following practice and discussed some of the most important storylines around the team right now. Here are our biggest takeaways from what he said.
Hoping to Decide Starting QB Following Saturday’s Scrimmage
After Chip Lindsey said that the snaps at quarterback were still being split between the trio of Max Johnson, Conner Harrell and Jacolby Criswell, there was reason to be concerned that the Tar Heels could be rotating two of those guys in the season opener. Brown quieted those concerns a little bit on Sunday when he said that he wants to announce the starting quarterback after they evaluate Saturday’s scrimmage. He also said that Criswell is still behind Johnson and Harrell, meaning the first team reps could be finally narrowed down to those two starting this week. Brown said back in 2022 when Drake Maye and Criswell were battling for the job that he doesn’t like running a two quarterback system after trying to do it at Texas and it seems like he is sticking to that this time around. In order for this to happen, though, someone needs to separate throughout this week.
Focus on Discipline Continuing
One of the main things that the staff is focusing on this preseason is discipline after the issues the team has had with penalties over the last few weeks. Brown says the way that they are hammering it home is by doing “physical drills” for players that commit penalties. This means that players will have to run extra in practice and will immediately be taken out of the game. This is the type of commitment that we have been looking for from the staff when handling penalties and hopefully the depth will allow them to carry that over in the regular season.
Still Question Marks in Front Seven
Brown is encouraged by what the team has on the edges and at the two starting linebackers, but he says the search for depth is still on. At linebacker, Brown says five are battling for reps, with Michael Short, Caleb LaVallee, Ashton Woods, Cade Law and Crews Law all spending time with the twos. Like at quarterback, Brown is hoping that there can be some separation here starting this week. It’s also telling that he did not mention the interior of the defensive line.
Secondary Is In Great Shape
Brown continued to praise the secondary, especially the safeties. He says that the foursome of Stick Lane, Jakeen Harris, Will Hardy and DeAndre Boykins can all play significant snaps if needed. Kaleb Cost appears to have taken the starting role at the STAR position, but both Tre Miller and Ty White have proven they are ready to play. The search is on at corner, though, as they hope to find at least one depth piece that can rotate in behind Alijah Huzzie and Marcus Allen. Tyrane Stewart, Ty Adams and Jalon Thompson are the three names that Geoff Collins said earlier in the week are competing for that spot. Stewart probably seems like the guy in the best position judging off how much the staff has praised him this offseason, but Saturday’s scrimmage will determine a lot here.
Left Guard Battle is Legit
It appears that the battle along the offensive line that heated up the most is the one at left guard, not right tackle. Malik McGowan still appears to have the starting job as of right now, but the continued progression of true freshman Aidan Banfield and the versatility of Jakiah Leftwich has made this a legitimate battle for the final two weeks of camp. Banfield has been a guy that Brown has raved about all offseason and there is no denying at this point that he will see some snaps for the team this year. Beating out McGowan to start in Minneapolis may be asking a lot, but at this point, you can’t rule out anything with him. As for Leftwich, he has some experience at guard from his time at Georgia Tech and the fact that he has started eight games in the ACC is something the staff likes. Regardless of who starts here, having three options that they can play at some point this season is encouraging.
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