North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson — who suffered a season-ending broken right leg in the Tar Heels’ opener against Minnesota — will return to UNC for the 2025 season, according to multiple reports Friday.
Johnson told ESPN, which first reported the news, he feels he has “a lot of football left in me, and know I’ll be back there next year.”
Johnson transferred to North Carolina that offseason after four seasons with LSU and Texas A&M, where he started a combined 30 games and threw for nearly 6,000 yards.
His power conference experience was a big reason Mack Brown recruited Johnson in the first place; with no obvious internal replacement for departing quarterback Drake Maye — who the New England Patriots selected with the third pick in this spring’s NFL Draft — UNC had to pull an immediate contributor from the transfer portal.
Johnson had yet to “earn” the starting spot over sophomore Conner Harrell – who stepped in after Johnson’s injury and led North Carolina to a 19-17 victory – but he started the Tar Heels’ opener and didn’t rotate with Harrell at all, like Brown. previously hinted he could.
Before going down, Johnson completed 12 of his 19 passes for 71 yards and an interception, while also rushing for 10 yards and a touchdown on six carries. He was injured near the end of the third quarter when he was tackled by two Minnesota defenders coming from opposite directions.
With Johnson out the rest of the season, Harrell will be UNC’s starter going forward; meanwhile, Jacolby Criswell — a former North Carolina backup who returned to the program this summer, after spending last season at Arkansas — becomes the Tar Heels’ new second string.
Assuming Johnson receives a medical redshirt for the 2024 season, he should have two seasons of eligibility remaining, meaning he could theoretically play the 2026 season as well, in what would be his seventh season of college football.
North Carolina hosts Charlotte at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Saturday in their home opener.
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(Photo: Matt Krohn / USA Today)
