The North Carolina Tar Heels opened their new season up Friday night against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the road and came away with a close victory. The Tar Heels won the game by a score of 19-17 on a late-game field goal by kicker Noah Burnette.
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But in the process, they lost starting quarterback Max Johnson to injury.
He suffered a broken left leg during the game and will now be out for the remainder of the season. Johnson underwent successful surgery and is expected to make a full recovery from this unfortunate injury.
UNC announces that QB Max Johnson is out for the season. He “underwent successful surgery in Minneapolis to repair a broken right leg on Friday. Johnson, who is accompanied by his parents in Minnesota, will return to Chapel Hill in a few days and is expected to make a full…
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 30, 2024
Johnson suffered the injury late in the third quarter of the game against Minnesota. It looked like his leg got trapped underneath as he went down. It bent at a weird angle, and the rest is history.
He had completed 12-of-19 passes for 71 yards, with one interception before the injury. Johnson also rushed for 10 yards on the ground, scoring one touchdown.
This was Johnson’s first game as a member of the Tar Heels after he transferred to North Carolina this offseason. He played for Texas A&M over the last two seasons, starting eight games last year.
He threw for 1,452 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions while with the Aggies. Johnson originally signed with the LSU Tigers as a member of the 2020 class.
The signal-caller started 12 games while with the Tigers in the 2021 season, throwing for 2,814 yards with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions. LSU went 6-7 during that season, leading to the eventual firing of former head coach Ed Orgeron.
Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images
He transferred to Texas A&M after it became clear he wouldn’t be the starter for the 2022 season. Former Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels ended up starting for the Tigers and helped them reach two straight 10-win seasons.
North Carolina will now go forward with quarterback Conner Harrell for the rest of the season. He only completed 2-of-4 passes in the game as the Tar Heels relied on running back Omarion Hampton to help seal the win.
Hampton put up 129 yards on the ground, while also catching five passes for 17 yards. With Johnson now out, Hampton will likely be given an even heavier role in the offensive attack.
North Carolina will have a full week to settle things on offense before its home opener next weekend against the Charlotte 49ers.
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