In his sixteen total seasons across two different stints, Mack Brown has found tremendous success as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Brown went 1-10 in each of his first two seasons at North Carolina, in 1988 and 1989, and has had just one losing season at the school since, when they went 6-7 in the 2021 season.
Brown is college football’s active wins leader among head coaches and has his finger on the pulse of success. That also seems to be the case this season, as the Tar Heels are 3-0 to start the year.
However, looks can be deceiving. The UNC offense has struggled so far in the 2024 season. Quarterback Max Johnson suffered a season-ending injury in UNC’s season-opening win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and Jacolby Criswell and Conner Harrell have been tasked with replacing him. Harrell is 20-for-35 for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Criswell is 15-for-24 for 163 yards and one touchdown.
This translates to 169 passing yards per game, the eighth-lowest among power conference teams. Speaking to the media this week, Brown shared that the passing game is a current concern.
“We have been so lucky to have two NFL quarterbacks [Drake Maye and Sam Howell] that didn’t get hurt, and we have thrown the ball as good as anybody in the country. So if you’re a wide receiver and you don’t see the same production right now, it’s a hard thing. It’s frustrating,” Brown said via On3.
However, he has some advice for his group of wide receivers.
“Gotta control what they can control. They’ve gotta have better concentration and catch the ball. They’ve gotta have better body language and be excited because we’re not the same passing team that we’ve been. We can be, and we’re headed in that direction. And I saw some great things Saturday that are really exciting,” He added.
The Tar Heels will look to get the passing game on track when they wrap up nonconference play on Saturday. They’ll be hosting the James Madison Dukes, and the game will kick off at noon Eastern.
[On3]
