Mack Brown believes Tar Heels have chance to be better in 2024
The ACC Football Kickoff came to an end on Thursday afternoon, with our North Carolina Tar Heels closing out the 4-day event.
UNC sent its best to Charlotte: head coach Mack Brown, start running back Omarion Hampton, linebackers Kaimon Rucker and Power Echols, plus the quarterback duo of Max Johnson and Conner Harrell, both of whom are competing for the starting job. These six got North Carolina fans excited about the upcoming season, which starts on Thursday, August 29 at Minnesota.
Even with all the talent the Tar Heels sport on this year’s roster, there’s no denying it’s different. UNC doesn’t have star wide receiver Tez Walker, but the most glaring difference is no Drake Maye, whom the New England Patirots took third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Are there going to be growing pains? Sure. Will it be weird catching passes from either Harrell or Johnson? No, but players will have to build chemistry with a different guy under center.
Regardless of how you choose to look at North Carolina’s upcoming season, Brown is confident about his team’s chances.
“I think we can have a better chance to have a better team without as much hype at quarterback,” Brown told ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “We’ll run the ball better. We’ll play better defense. We’ll play complementary football better. With Sam and Drake, you’re trying to win the Heisman. You’re throwing it every time.”
Omarion Hampton is easily the Tar Heels’ most skilled returner, as he earned First Team All-ACC honors last year, during a season when he collected 15 rushing touchdowns and a conference-best 1,504 rushing yards. Echols collected 102 tackles in 2023, while Rucker had a team-high 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
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