Mack Brown sends message to North Carolina football after Max Johnson’s season-ending injury

North Carolina football coach Mack Brown has been around for a while. He knows that an injury to a key player can have a profound impact on a football team, but he doesn’t want his team to get too down. The North Carolina football team will be breaking in a new quarterback after the program lost sharpshooter Max Johnson for the season.

The Tar Heels now have young point guard Conner Harrell. Harrell helped lead his team to a Week 1 win over Minnesota. He also started in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl late last season against West Virginia.

“We told him, ‘You got him,’” Brown said, according to ESPN. “And we told the team, ‘Let’s rally around your new quarterback and let’s go out there and make it work.’ Like I said, he’s really good. So it’s time for him to have fun and play well.”

Harrell will have the opportunity to lead the North Carolina football team to another fantastic season. The young point guard has the ability to run as well as pass, which gives the Tar Heels some versatility. Harrell also nearly won the starting job earlier this year, ahead of Johnson. With Johnson’s injury, Harrell now has to take over.

“He’s just got to get his confidence and go for it,” Brown added. “It’s up to him. It’s up to him.”

North Carolina football has a chance to make waves in the ACC

North Carolina is the underdog to win the ACC this season. The league seems wide open, as Florida State is virtually out of the running for the conference title after two straight losses. There are plenty of other schools that could compete for the conference crown, including Boston College and Miami.

There’s no reason North Carolina can’t compete. The team returns a solid core of players from last year’s eight-win team that lost to West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Harrell’s job now is to lead the offense. The play caller did what he needed to do to help the Tar Heels earn a key non-conference win over Minnesota in Week 1.

“I’ve seen him be a lot more confident and a lot more assertive with our team,” North Carolina offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said. “He got in a tough situation the other night. … He executed and did what we asked him to do.”

“I think we’re going to see him evolve. He’s still a young player.”

North Carolina’s schedule in the conference is pretty favorable. The Tar Heels only play two ranked teams at the time of this writing, North Carolina State and Florida State. Rankings are always changing, so things are subject to change. The team has a few back-to-back games in September against non-conference opponents, to try to build the quarterback’s confidence.

The Tar Heels next face Charlotte on Saturday.