CHAPEL HILL — Eleven months ago, Max Johnson broke his right femur in North Carolina’s season opener against Minnesota — an injury so severe that, at one point, it seemed as if he might lose the leg and required five surgeries, weeks of bedrest and months of rehab to fully heal.
On Saturday, the first day of fall practice, Johnson took the first reps during individual drills for new head coach Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels.
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“Thank the Lord that I was just able to come back and finally be fully healthy now,” Johnson said after practice. “I just want to praise God for finally just putting me in this position.”
When Johnson went down early in the third quarter on Aug. 29, he knew almost immediately that something was seriously wrong. He stayed behind in Minnesota for additional care and surgeries.
“There was a point in time where I thought I was going to lose my leg,” Johnson said, the emotion evident in his voice. “And God blessed to be able to continue to play football. Man, what an honor it is just to be back playing. All the coaches believed in me, and I kind of believed in myself, and the Lord put me in this position to glorify Him through what I’m doing. Man, what a journey it’s been.”
Johnson and Gio Lopez are the top contenders to be the starter when UNC opens the Belichick era against TCU on Sept. 1. Neither participated in team drills during the spring – Johnson due to the injury; Lopez because he was still at South Alabama. Freshman quarterback Bryce Baker did participate in spring practice.
“One of the key questions we have to answer,” Belichick said of picking a starting quarterback.
That the 24-year-old Johnson, the son of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson, is even in the conversation is incredible. For weeks after the injury, he was unable to sit and had to simply lie down. Unable to change his own clothes, his parents and brother Jake, a UNC tight end, helped.
“Fifth year in college getting changed by my parents,” Johnson said Saturday.
It took about six weeks before Johnson could even walk again. But he committed to his rehab, setting a goal of being healthy enough to play in 2025. There was the daily grind of being in the training room — scar tissue messages, stim machine treatment, running on a water treadmill. By spring, he was able to be on the field and do some drills, but not live action.
“He’s made a tremendous amount of progress throughout the process, but really it’s that last, call it 20%, between not being able to play and really being ready to play right at the start of training camp, which is where he is now,” Belichick said.
“He didn’t take any meaningful snaps in the spring. He worked out on his own. He threw some routes, but he wasn’t involved in the team drills. It’s a big jump for him in terms of what he’s able to do, although I think the progression is very gradual. It’s 1% of the time, it’s 1% of the time, but at some point you just cross that threshold, and so he’ll be ready to participate out there with all the other players.”
Johnson said he has been fully cleared for practice.
Johnson began his career in 2020 at LSU. He’s played 31 games over five seasons at LSU (2020-21), Texas A&M (2022-23) and UNC (2024). Just once, in 2021, did he play more than eight games in a year. He suffered a season-ending injury in 2022 at A&M. Johnson, 6-foot-5 and left-handed, has two years of eligibility remaining.
The goal, for now, is to be the starter.
“Just being as consistent as I can be — don’t get too high, don’t get too low, don’t make the bad plays worse,” Johnson said. “Focus on what they’re telling us. Take the checkdown when it’s there, take the shot when it’s there. And being able to manipulate the defense with your eyes and just be consistent every day. Be the same person every day. Don’t change because something good happened, something bad happened.”
Lopez, another lefty, threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns (against five interceptions) and added another 465 yards and seven touchdowns rushing last season. He said he planned to return to South Alabama but couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play for Belichick. He signed a two-year, $4-million deal, according to ESPN.
Johnson and Lopez attended the Manning Passing Academy together, flying and spending layovers together. Johnson said the pair has been able to learn from each other and pick each other’s brains about the position. Lopez called Johnson “a great dude” and said, despite their competition, they’ve become close.
“From December to now, he looks way better seeing him running around,” Lopez said. “I didn’t get to see all the hard work he put in, but just overall talking to him, I’m thankful to be able to watch him be able to go out there and compete again. It’s been awesome.”
After five combined seasons with current NFL players Sam Howell and Drake Maye at quarterback, the Tar Heels’ quarterback situation has been a bit messy since.
After Johnson’s injury, UNC turned to Conner Harrell and then Jacolby Criswell at quarterback last season. Both transferred after the season — Harrell to Charlotte and Criswell to East Tennessee State. Quarterback Michael Merdinger, who replaced an injured Criswell in UNC’s Fenway Bowl loss, transferred to Liberty.
Ryan Browne, a transfer from Purdue who split time with Baker during the Tar Heels’ final spring practice, left the program after the spring and returned to Purdue.
Belichick said he has no timetable for naming a starter.
“Once we’re confident that we know who has earned that spot — because that’s what it’ll be, it’s not us picking them, it’ll be that player earning it — then we’ll decide on that,” Belichick said. “If it’s clear-cut, then that player will be the player. If it’s not, maybe the competition will continue into the early part of the season. I’ve done that before, more at other positions than quarterback but it could also be at quarterback, where we'll see how it goes in the early part of the season.
“Again, whoever earns it is going to be who gets it. That's the bottom line. Nobody’s entitled to it. Nobody’s been given anything. The person who plays the best and earns that playing time, will get it, and I don’t know who that’s going to be. It’ll be up to them.
It certainly would be good to have that done for the first game, maybe even two weeks before the first game. The sooner the better. It’s better to make the right decision than a quick decision.”
Johnson called it an “honor” to play for Belichick, whom he called “the best coach of all time.” Belichick, 73, won six Super Bowl titles as head coach of the New England Patriots and two more as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants. It is his first college season.
“That’s the reason why I stayed, being able to play for the best of all time,” Johnson said.
The awful injury and the long journey back has taught Johnson a lot, he said.
“Just kind of how to push through and kind of just remember why I play football, and that's kind of to just give God the glory through kind of what I'm doing,” he said.
Added Johnson: “I feel really loved and seen, and just very blessed to be here.”