Extra Points: Back Home

By Lee Pace

Drake Maye was dressed in Carolina workout togs Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium, his New England Patriots having played Thursday night and Maye with some time to take in the Tar Heels' game against James Madison. He watched with interest as the new quarterback, Jacolby Criswell, operated in his first college football start that wasn't a late-season game against an FCS foe.

Carolina's first play: Criswell looks past a defensive end crashing in his face and launches a tight spiral with perfect aim and distance downfield to Christian Hamilton for a 42-yard gain.

Second possession: Criswell takes a handoff from Omarion Hampton on a gadget play, sprints right and hits John Copenhaver on the money 20 yards downfield. The tight end collects the ball, eludes one defender and steamrolls another for a 35-yard score.

Third possession: Criswell stands cooly in the pocket and spots Kobe Paysour on a flag route to his left in front of the Tar Heel sideline. He hits Paysour with precision on the receiver's outside shoulder—just beyond the defender's reach and just inside the paint. That's 30 more yards into Criswell's account on the way to 475 yards passing for the day.

Maye's face lights up watching it all.

"Jacolby can spin it with the best of them," Maye says. "He's like throwing routes on air. He's a great dude, he's great in the locker room. What a great story. I'm excited to see what's coming."

As is all of Tar Heel nation. In the wake of a 70-50 loss to the Dukes Saturday, Criswell and his potential are certainly the bright spot.

"I saw a lot of great things with Jacolby," Coach Mack Brown says. "I said, 'My gosh, he made some great throws.' He got hit and still made some great throws. We have to protect him better. He kept his composure. He didn't get frustrated. He came back after throwing an interception for a touchdown. I'm real excited about moving forward with him."

Adds offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey: "We knew we had a talented player, for sure. Jacolby took charge of the offense more, was more vocal with the O-line, his pocket presence was solid. He's established himself as a guy who can throw the ball down the field. I've seen his growth over the last three weeks, and that comes with confidence. There are things we've got to clean up, but there are a lot of positives to take from that game."

What a journey it's been for Criswell, who came to Chapel Hill in 2020 as part of Brown's second recruiting class since taking the Carolina job in December 2018. The dual-threat quarterback at Morrilton (Ark.) High School was a four-star prospect offered by Georgia after his junior year of high school and recruited by Steve Sarkisian when Sarkisian was offensive coordinator at Alabama. He was an early enrollee for the first semester in 2020 and then got snared in the Covid-19 shutdown, spending three months with roommate John Copenhaver at the Copenhaver home in Roswell, Ga.

He had size, speed, brains, a strong arm and a confident carriage. His only problem was coming in when Sam Howell was ensconced for two more years and then getting beat out by Drake Maye in his third year in 2022—all this despite arm strength that could sling a ball further than Howell.

"That's 100 percent the truth," Criswell says with a smile, then glances down toward his right shoulder.

"I know my right arm is one of the best in the country, 100 percent," he says. "It's a money maker, I'm not going to let it go to waste. I've got two years left. At this point, it's do or die."

Criswell announced in December 2022 that he was entering the transfer portal and quickly landed with his home state Arkansas Razorbacks. But he played sparingly in 2023 and at the end of the season was looking at his third offensive coordinator stepping in in Fayetteville when Dan Enos was fired and Bobby Petrino was hired. He'd remained close to Tar Heels like Copenhaver and J.J. Jones, and during a series of texts and phone calls in the spring of 2024, the idea of him returning to Chapel Hill was broached. One thing led to another, and during the summer, Criswell was officially back in Carolina blue.

"Lucky enough, Coach Brown and all the guys were totally on board to have me back," Criswell says. "A lot of the guys who I came in with are still here. I thought home was leaving and going somewhere else. In reality, this is home. This is where I want to be, where I want to end my college football career."

Criswell had a lot of ground to make up—learning the offense Lindsey had installed when he replaced Phil Longo in early 2023 and losing some 15 pounds he had added for a more pro-style offense at Arkansas. The season-ending injury to Max Johnson at Minnesota moved him up to back-up behind Conner Harrell, and the decision was made by Brown and Lindsey the week of the N.C. Central game in week three that Criswell would get an opportunity the third series against the Eagles. Criswell made the most of it and was rewarded with the start against JMU.

His 475 yards throwing were the third-highest single-game total in Tar Heel history, trailing Howell's 550 in 2020 and Marquise Williams' 494 in 2015. He completed 28-of-48 passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions. Certainly, falling behind 53-21 at halftime changed the complexion of the Tar Heels' offensive game plan.

"I saw a lot of great things with Jacolby, but throwing the ball 48 times is not who we are," Brown says. "We still ran the ball pretty well even when we had to throw it every time. We got way down, fast. We're not a passing team like we have been. We're a run and play-action team, we had to get completely away from that and that's not who we are."

"Jacolby never lost his confidence or got discouraged," Copenhaver says. "You can get discouraged and lose your confidence quickly in college football, and he didn't do that. He kept his head high, and he kept working. I'm just happy to see him see some success on the field."

The next chapter in the Criswell story unfolds Saturday at 4 p.m. at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium, where the Tar Heels attempt to notch win No. 6 in a row over the Blue Devils.

"I came back to Chapel Hill, put my head down and went to work," he says. "I'm a competitor, I love to compete. Being here for three years I competed against two great quarterbacks. I'm blessed with that opportunity. I'm just here to compete."

Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace (Carolina '79) has been writing about Tar Heel football under the "Extra Points" banner since 1990 and reporting from the sidelines on radio broadcasts since 2004. Write him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him @LeePaceTweet.

Players Mentioned

John Copenhaver

Jacolby Criswell

Christian Hamilton

Omarion Hampton

Conner Harrell

Max Johnson

J.J. Jones

Drake Maye

Kobe Paysour

Related Videos