Who should be North Carolina football's QB1 in 2024?

The Drake Maye era is officially over. It was a great run and fans got to witness one of the best arms in the country, but North Carolina football is moving on.

It's a scary thought going from All-American and Heisman candidate to uncertainty with a transfer quarterback and a potential first-year starter who has played minimal college football.

So between Max Johnson and Conner Harrell, who should be the starter?

Well, the battle wasn't exactly decided in the spring and figures to extend into the fall, but let's just take a look at what each brings to the table.

Johnson is a veteran transfer who has over 5,500 career passing yards as well as 47 touchdown passes. He played his first two seasons at LSU before transferring to Texas A&M, making some starts there before hitting the portal and picking North Carolina. He has a career 60-plus percent completion rate and he has only thrown 12 interceptions. He doesn't make many mistakes but he's also not going to run with the ball.

Harrell, on the other hand, adds a dual-threat dimension that may actually raise the ceiling of the offense. He played minimally as a freshman in 2023 behind Maye and passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and he had a 61-yard rushing touchdown. He also completed 66 percent of his passes.

So which one of these guys is the right option?

If I'm Mack Brown, I go with the younger quarterback with a higher ceiling and dual-threat capabilities. Johnson is a great backup to have because he has plenty of quality experience, but I think you go with the quarterback who you can grow in your system and still has three years of eligibility remaining.