Sources: Criswell to be 3rd QB to begin for UNC

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN

• Elder WriterSep 20, 2024, 04:38 PM ET Close College football reporter.
• Signed up with ESPN.com in 2008.
• Graduate of Northwestern University.North Carolina is set to begin its 3rd quarterback in 4 games as Jacolby Criswell will take the first snaps Saturday against James Madison, a source informed ESPN.Criswell, who moved back to North Carolina after spending the 2023 season at Arkansas, had been competing during the week with Conner Harrell.The Tar Heels lost Max Johnson, a transfer from Texas A&M, to a damaged leg in their season-opening win at Minnesota.

  Harrell changed Johnson and began the previous two games, however he struggled early recently against North Carolina A&T and was replaced by Criswell who had 161 passing backyards and a goal in a 45-10 win.Editor’s Picks< img src= "https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2024/0915/r1386929_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center" width

  =”65″height =”65″/ >”He’s made remarkable progress,” offensive planner Chip Lindsey said today of Criswell. “He got here late in the summer and he got a lot of reps in fall camp early, however then you had to start preparing for the first game, and we just seemed like at that time, Conner and Max led him from the standpoint of associates and the offense and so forth. What I’ve seen especially because Max decreased, not that he wasn’t preparing before, I have actually seen a larger sense of urgency most likely on his part.”

  The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Criswell pertained to UNC in 2020 however played moderately over 3 seasons, although he started one game in 2021. He appeared in 4 games for Arkansas in 2023, passing for 143 yards and 3 goals. Criswell then moved back to North Carolina following spring practice, retaining 2 seasons of eligibility.247 Sports first reported Criswell as North Carolina’s anticipated starter for the James Madison game.