Who will start at QB for UNC football? 5 things to know entering the 2024 season
As the grind continues at North Carolina’s preseason football practices, the opening game against Minnesota draws closer and closer.
The Tar Heels and Golden Gophers will get things started Aug. 29, with more than 50,000 people expected for the Thursday night game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. No easing into the 2024 season. It’s ACC vs. Big Ten.
Opening games can be fickle football affairs. Some players freeze up when the lights come on, make mistakes, especially on the road. Others shine, embracing game pressure.
“We may learn something at Minnesota we can’t learn in practice,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. ”Who handles games better?”
Brown was talking about his quarterbacks but it applies to his team. UNC easily beat Minnesota last season, but that was in Chapel Hill. A road game to open a season, on the other team’s home field, is enough to cause coaches unsettled stomachs.
Brown hoped a scheduled scrimmage Saturday would provide more answers. “After Saturday,” Brown said, “it needs to come.”
Here are five things to know about UNC going into the 2024 season:
Taking the first snap
One has to think, barring an injury in camp, it will be quarterback Max Johnson starting the first game.
Johnson has the experience: 30 games in the SEC at LSU and then Texas A&M, including 22 starts. He has the pedigree: his father, Brad, won a Super Bowl“ with Tampa Bay. The lefty has that look about him.
“Max has played a lot of ball,” Brown said. “Max is accurate. Max can run better than people think he can.”
But Brown quickly brought up Conner Harrell and Jacolby Criswell, saying, “Conner consistently gets better. Then you put Jacolby in and he’ll make some plays that wow you.”
Brown hasn’t completely ruled out playing two QBs. He did it before in his first coaching run at UNC with Jason Stanicek and Mike Thomas sharing the snaps, and later with Chris Keldorf and Oscar Davenport. He did it at Texas with Major Applewhite and Chris Simms.
“It seemed like the one that started stunk and the other came in and won the game,” Brown said, smiling. “We’re not planning on playing two. But unless someone takes over …”
The position of Power
A year ago, conversations about the inside linebackers usually began, “Cedric Gray and Power Echols …” Gray, the older guy, the defensive leader, was mentioned first.
Now, it’s Echols who is the guy. He’s the leader, the one on all the preseason watch lists.
“He’s always been that guy for us,” linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said Thursday. “Every day, Power comes out here and will give you 110 percent. He’s not going to be the vocal guy off the field, but on the field this is his domain.”
Replacing Gray will be sophomore Amare Campbell, who has been slowed by a hand injury that Thigpen called a “little setback.” The coach said it could keep Campbell out a “couple of weeks” but that he should be ready for the opener.
Thigpen called Campbell a “cerebral player” who combines toughness and football savvy, comparing him to former UNC ‘backer Jeremiah Gemmel. But he also likes his backups, who have been getting extra reps with Campbell injured.
Caleb LaVallee, a redshirt freshman, and sophomore Cade Law have stood out in camp, Thigpen said. Sophomore Michael Short and freshman Ashton Woods also have done enough good things to catch the coaches’ eyes.
“Everybody wants to play and hopefully we can be at least two deep. That’s been Coach’s theme this year,” Thigpen said.
The big guys up front
No one really talks about the offensive line. Not a lot. That said, what about the offensive line?
Let’s start with tackle Howard Sampson. He’s huge. He’s listed at 6-8 and 325 pounds and that’s no stretch. The transfer from North Texas is a big, big man.
Another transfer is center Austin Blaske, who left Georgia after four years to play for the Heels. He’ll be replacing Corey Gaynor, a stalwart on the line last season.
Senior guard Willie Lampkin is the “old head” in the group and will be the O-line leader. And another transfer, Jakiah Leftwich from Georgia Tech, has put together good practices and can play tackle or guard, Brown said.
Blaske, in a media session, said he had two national championship rings from Georgia and keeps them with him. He noted that Brown has one, from his Texas days.
“I have not told him that,” Blaske said, smiling.
“I don’t like to show them around. That’s who I was and who I was with, and now I’m here with a different team. I want to focus on us getting a national championship.”
Off-the-radar player
One player whose name keeps coming up in preseason talk — including Brown’s recent practice assessment — is Davion Gause, a freshman running back from Opa-locka, Florida.
It’s a position at UNC led by Omarion Hampton, a 1,500-yard rusher last season and a preseason All-America. Senior Caleb Hood, when healthy, can be effective and productive.
But keep an eye on Gause. A four-star prospect after leading Chaminade-Madonna Prep to three state titles, he can be a load at 5-feet-11 and 215 pounds.
“He just amazes us with his maturity,” Brown said. “He’s starting on four special teams. He may be the best or second-best pass protector out there, as a true freshman, and he’s got very good vision. He’s going to have a role.”
Gause’s nickname is “Bullet.” On his Instagram bio, he has “pill toter,” not a bad football description.
A player to pull for
The tears came shockingly quick when Darwin Barlow was discussing his transfer from Southern Cal to UNC and the possibilities at his new school – a new start that the running back apparently needed so badly.
Barlow, speaking to the media after a recent practice, talked of being in “some dark places” personally before the move. At USC, he had become a forgotten man on the roster.
“I was going through some tough times, always trying to believe in myself even though I was not getting the time I wanted on the field or putting in all those hours and not getting the results,” he said.
Barlow, now a graduate student, began his college career at TCU, playing two years before transferring to Southern Cal. After three years with the Trojans, it was time to leave and find a better place.
Below said he relied on his faith. He relied on his parents. He kept on going.
“It’s just keeping my eyes on the cross and, you know, God just giving me the will and energy and happiness to continue to go,” he said.
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Who will start at QB for UNC football? 5 things to know entering the 2024 season."
