UNC 2024 Football Season Preview 

It’s a New Beginning at Quarterback – How Will Mack Brown and the Tar Heels Improve?

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

Going into last season, the UNC football team had high expectations. They were coming off an appearance in an ACC championship game for the first time since 2015. In 2023, they had big aspirations as a team and wanted to avenge their 2022 ACC championship game defeat. The Heels got off to a great start to the season with a 6-0 record in the first half of the season. They were riding high playing like one of the best teams in the country, became ranked #10 in the country, and were in a prime position to make another run for an ACC Championship. However, after all the early success at the beginning of the season, they dropped back-to-back games against two unranked opponents Virginia and Georgia Tech. It was a complete surprise to everyone, especially with the success they had in the first six games of the season. Not only did those two losses derail their season, but it also magnified all the issues that North Carolina has had since Mack Brown returned to North Carolina as the head coach. They haven’t handled success well and haven’t been able to sustain that level of play for an entire season. It was a disappointing, shocking, unacceptable turn of events that led to them losing four of their last six games, including a three-game losing streak to cap off the season. The Tar Heels fell apart towards the end of the season and finished the season 8-5 with huge question marks going into the offseason with Drake Maye leaving for the NFL draft.  

State of the Program 

Since Mack Brown has returned to North Carolina they have a 38-27 record, which is pretty good, but they are not exactly where Mack Brown, UNC, and the North Carolina fanbase want them to be yet as a program.  Last season, the Tar Heels did not live up to expectations with a top 3 NFL pick at quarterback on their team. UNC once again had a bad finish to the season. For the second straight year, they ended the season on a losing streak. The coaching staff has had no clear explanations for what’s transpired to close out those seasons but has no excuses either. The Heels had arguably the best quarterback in the country, one of the top running backs in the nation, and a slew of weapons on offense, but what has hurt them the last couple of seasons is their defense. The defense’s inability to stop opponents from high-scoring efforts has cost the Tar Heels tremendously. The last two seasons the talent has been there but the product on the field has not matched the talent. 

Carolina has routinely had bad performances from the defense and has struggled to find the right defensive formula under previous defensive coordinators Jay Bateman and Gene Chizik. Over the last three seasons, North Carolina has had a bottom-five defense in the conference. This is just totally unacceptable with all the talent they have at their disposal and with the offense being arguably the best in the conference in the last couple of years. Even if the defense could’ve been average consistently for the entire season, the Heels would’ve been in a better position in the win column and gave the Heels a better shot at being a consistent contender for the ACC championship. The defense has been the Achilles’ heel of this program and Mack Brown must address that problem head-on to help UNC reach its potential as a team. 

This is a critical year for Mack Brown as a head coach for the Tar Heels. Coach Brown is going into his sixth season in his second stint as head coach and many people have questioned if he should still be the coach with the way things have gone at the end of the last two seasons. He has said while the program is back and somewhat relevant in the college football landscape, he has not completely reached his goals as a coach since his return. At this point in his second tenure, the Tar Heels expected to be in a better position as a program, which is to be competing for ACC championships every single year and to be in one of the best bowl games in the postseason. It seemed like the Heels took a step back last season instead of building on their ACC championship appearance in 2022. 

Last offseason the coaching staff talked about going from “good to great” instead they went from “good to average”. Carolina needs to break the cycle of being a mediocre team. Mack Brown must do everything in his power to change that narrative. It starts with making sure he surrounds himself with the best coaches on both sides of the ball who are going to help take this team to the next level. In addition, finding the right culture, methods, and formula that can allow his team to play their best football at each phase of the season and not just at the beginning or the middle of the season. There are no more excuses for him. The clock and time management in games must be better. There should be no more losing to less talented teams or rivals consistently every year. Playing more players and establishing depth must be prioritized on both sides of the ball. The talent is there so the reserves must be coached up and prepared to go out to execute the game plan in the same way the starters are. 

2024 Season 

The expectations for the 2024 UNC football team are not as high this year due to the uncertainty at quarterback and the defensive woes that have plagued the Heels for the last couple of seasons. They are predicted to finish 8th in the ACC in the preseason standings.   The biggest question coming into this upcoming 2024 season is who will be starting at quarterback for the North Carolina Tar Heels after the big void left by Drake Maye going to the NFL.  A quarterback competition between Conner Harrell and transfer Max Johnson has continued well throughout the offseason. Max Johnson comes from Texas A&M and LSU, where he has four years of experience and threw 47 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 60% of his passes. 

Meanwhile, Connor Harrel is a sophomore and appeared in 5 games, only starting in the bowl game last season against West Virginia where he threw for 199 yards 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Both quarterbacks have abilities that you would want in a starting quarterback. Max Johnson is a good passer, makes very smart decisions with the football, and is a very high IQ player. Connor Harrell is a mobile quarterback, who can make dynamic plays with his legs and has a huge arm. The quarterback play this year can truly define the season for the Tar Heels and there has even been talk about playing two quarterbacks throughout the season depending on if one of their play separates from the other. The improvement of the defense will also be key to the Tar Heels’ success this season. They brought back a lot of talent from last season and have made upgrades in the secondary.  We have seen glimpses and spurts of the defense playing well in the last couple of seasons, but it is time for this unit to be consistent.  

Offense 

Last season, UNC had another spectacular season offensively. Carolina had the number one offense in the ACC. Drake Maye led the ACC in passing with 3500 yards and 24 passing touchdowns and Omarion Hampton was the top rusher in the conference and 5^th best rusher in the nation with 1500 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns, making them one of the best tandems in the country.  Without knowing what exactly you’ll get from the quarterback production-wise this year, Hampton will be the clear number-one option in the offense and should lead the Heels to another year as the best rushing attack in the conference with the added depth behind him including Caleb Hood and transfer Darwin Barlow.

The Heels did bring a few solid receivers back in Kobe Paysour, JJ Jones, Gavin Blackwell, and Nate Mccollum but lost their top receiver Tez Walker to the NFL. However, they do have some talented young players coming back who are expected to make an impact at the receiver position including sophomores Chris Culliver, Christian Hamilton, and Paul Billups. Also, adding freshmen Jordan Shipp, Alex Taylor, and Javarius Green into the mix. The best pass catcher, most productive receiver, and biggest mismatch in the passing game could be tight end Bryson Nesbit, who leads one of the best tight end groups in the country that also includes John Copenhaver and Jake Johnson.

The offensive line play will be one of the main deciding factors in the offense’s success this season as they need to make significant improvement in pass protection. Carolina’s offensive line has been one of the worst in pass protection over the last few years and will be critical with the new starting quarterback. The offensive line will look a lot different this year as four of the five starters from last season departed from the team. Mack Brown has said during this offseason that he expects this offensive line to be much better and have at least 8 or 9 players that they trust in game situations. The starters are expected to be Howard Sampson at left tackle, Jonathan Adorno at left guard, Austin Blaske at center, Willie Lampkin at right guard, and Trevyon Green at right tackle. The one thing you can count on is North Carolina having one of the top five offenses in the ACC and one of the best in the country and we should expect nothing different this season. Whoever ends up winning the starting quarterback job will have a lot to work with on offense and won’t need to put pressure on himself but take advantage of everything this offensive personnel has to offer. 

Defense 

Because of the Tar Heels’ poor defenses over the last couple of seasons, this offseason Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik was relieved of his duties and Coach Mack Brown hired former head coach and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who coached at Georgia Tech and Temple. The defense under Gene Chizik was just not getting the job done for the Tar Heels. The defensive play was not consistent throughout the season. We would see glimpses and spurts of the defense playing well, but there was never a season where they played well for the entire season or were even consistent in their play throughout. The defensive line struggled to consistently put pressure on the quarterback and make plays in the backfield. The secondary struggled to limit big plays down the field and was often out of position to stop the opponents’ receivers from compiling yards. The linebackers have been the best defensive position group for the Tar Heels over the last couple of seasons, but their play tended to get worse at the end of the year because of all the snaps they played. The decision not to use the depth on the roster took a toll on the players and it showed up in the defensive players’ performance on the field. They often looked tired and were not in optimal shape to make the plays needed for the defense to have success.  

This season the defense is expected to be significantly better under new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. Geoff Collins has over 20 years of college coaching experience and has produced 4 different top-25-ranked defenses in some of his stints as defensive coordinator at his past stops. The defensive coaches have talked all off-season about them needing to be more aggressive and disruptive. That means being disruptive in the backfield, at the line of the scrimmage, and in all phases. The Tar Heels bring back several players who will contribute at all three phases of the defense. Linebacker Power Echols returns as the leader of the defense and will be seen as the tone-setter for North Carolina. The defensive line is once again deep and talented with returning players Kaimon Rucker, Desmond Evans, Beau Atkinson, Kevin Hester Jr, Jahvaree Ritzie, Travis Shaw, Mali Hamrick, and Joshua Harris. There is enough depth available for these players to rotate in and out to wreak havoc and give opposing teams’ offensive lines and quarterbacks major problems.

The linebacker position along with Power Echols does not have a lot of experience, but there are some promising players in Amare Campbell, Michael Short, and Caleb LaVallee. The most improved unit for the North Carolina defense this season should be the secondary, which was last in passing defense in the ACC in 2023. The defensive backs have a lot to prove and with another year of experience for key guys like Marcus Allen, Will Hardy, Antavious Lane, Deandre Boykins, and the added talent in the offseason with Jakeen Harris, and Kaleb Cost they should be well-equipped to be more productive this year. Overall, the defense has the talent, but it will be up to the coaching staff to put the players in the best scheme and system to allow these players to flourish and be successful. It’s time for this defense to be the backbone of this team as they have all the tools and personnel to become one of the better defenses in the ACC this season.  

The North Carolina football team plays their first game of the season on Thursday, August 29 at Minnesota, which they beat last year 31-13, at 8:00 on Fox. The Heels do not have as daunting of a schedule as in the past but must take every team they face seriously. They should get off to a great start with their first opponents being Minnesota, Charlotte, NC Central, James Madison, Duke, and Pittsburgh but it will get more interesting in the later part of the season against Virginia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, and NC State. They have been known to have letdown games against inferior opponents and must not allow that to happen this season. While the expectations might not be high for this 2024 season, this is a critical year in the second Mack Brown era. He needs to show that a consistent winning culture has been established and that every time the Tar Heels touch the football field there is a certain level of play and a certain kind of team that shows up every week. If they have a subpar season the boosters and the fans may be ready for a change in the head coaching position. Ultimately it will be a challenge for Mack Brown and his coaching staff, but with the team they’ve put together you can envision a successful season for the Tar Heels, even exceeding the low expectations by the media and fans.