UNC QB depth chart after Max Johnson confirmed out for the season

North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson has been ruled out for the rest of the season, ESPN's Pete Thamel reports. The senior play caller underwent a successful procedure for a broken leg suffered during the Tar Heel's season opening victory over Minnesota on Thursday night.

Late in the third quarter, with North Carolina leading 13-10, Johnson dropped back and threw an incomplete pass on third down when his right leg was rolled up on by a defensive player. He then immediately took an upper body shot by another defender which nearly split the quarterback in half.

Johnson was attended to for several minutes by team medical staff and was eventually carted off the field, his mother watching from the stands in tears.

According to Thamel, Johnson is expected to return to Chapel Hill in the coming days and make a full recovery. But Tar Heel fans now look to the depth chart to see who the team will rely on going forward in the huddle.

UNC depth chart at quarterback without Max Johnson

Sophomore Connor Harrell took over for Johnson for the remainder of the Minnesota game, completing 2-of-4 passes for 34 yards in the 19-17 win.

While head coach Mack Brown has not named a starter for next weekend's matchup with Charlotte, Harrell appears to be the next man up having been in this kind of position before with North Carolina.

In 2023, Harrell played in three regular season games (albeit when starter Drake Maye was benched because the victory was already clinched) and started in the Tar Heels' bowl game after Maye declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

He threw for a grand total of 270 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in that span. While it is a small sample size, the fact that Brown tapped Harrell to back up Maye and Johnson speaks volumes.

The other option would be graduate transfer Jacolby Criswell, who arrived in Chapel Hill from Arkansas where he played behind starter K.J. Jefferson — logging four appearances in 2023. Criswell also played in 11 games for North Carolina from 2020-2022, failing to establish himself as a starter before heading to Fayetteville.

With those being the only two options immediately available, Brown could be forced to ask any of his five freshmen on the roster to burn their redshirt if things go downhill fast.

That being unlikely, North Carolina's 1-0 start comes with a presumably three-week cushion as the Tar Heels next opponents are all FCS or recently FCS programs (Charlotte on Sept. 7, NC Central on Sept. 14 and James Madison on Sept. 21).

So, Brown will have some time to figure out the best path forward for the program. But it's possible star running back Omarion Hampton will be getting a hefty increase in touches as the offensive priority could fully rest on the shoulders of the running game.