The Tar Heel starting quarterback battle is back on as the team prepares to head into their fourth game of the season this weekend with James Madison.
Head coach Mack Brown spoke with the media on Monday and confirmed that the plan is to play both quarterbacks this week in both practice and the game.
"We're going to watch them during the week because we've got to have both of them," Brown said. "We're so inexperienced there, we cannot say that we're going to have 'this guy' play. We need both of them to play. And they're very different, and what we've got to do is do a better job, as we go forward, of making sure we do what each one of them does best, and not try to have an offense. We gotta have things that Jacolby does best and things that Conner does best and play them."
Harrell started the last two games the Tar Heels, having his ups and downs. Against Charlotte, Harrell completed 16 of his 25 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 39 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. He struggled with accuracy in that game, missing some easy throws and forcing others when he shouldn’t have. That was enough for the staff to tell the ESPN crew that was on their game that the team would use two quarterbacks against NC Central.
Harrell struggled out of the gate on Saturday, completing just two of his six pass attempts for 22 yards, including a couple of dangerous passes that were nearly intercepted, prompting them to make the move to Criswell. Criswell entered the game and completed 14 of his 23 passes for 161 yards and touchdown, a stat line that could have been even better if not for drops. He helped lead the team down the field on the first three scoring drives of the 4th quarter that allowed them to put NC Central away.
While Brown says that the team will use both guys this weekend, this should be Criswell’s job until he proves otherwise. He may not have a ton of snaps as a starter, but it was clear that he was much more confident and comfortable despite being less familiar with the playbook than Harrell. He was also more accurate in the intermediate passing game than Harrell was and was better with the anticipation throws, which is needed for a group of pass catchers that isn’t creating the type of separation that they have in years past. Criswell also provides enough running ability for Chip Lindsey to keep quarterback run plays in the offense. With conference play a week and a half away, seeing a full game from him as the starter is probably the best way to figure out this quarterback battle, something you have to do if you want to win games in the ACC.
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