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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – One of Thompson’s greatest former players finally got a chance to make his mark at the college level with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Harrell earned his first win as the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback in a 38-20 victory over the Charlotte 49ers in Kenan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Harrell finished the game 16-for-25 with 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in UNC’s home opener. He also took nine carries for 39 yards and a rushing touchdown.

He was forced into the quarterback role after transfer quarterback Max Johnson broke his leg in the season opener at Minnesota. Harrell finished out the game and went 2-for-4 for 34 yards as the Tar Heels made four second-half field goals in a 19-17 comeback win over the Golden Gophers.

UNC head coach Mack Brown then turned over the keys of the offense to Harrell ahead of their Week 2 showdown with in-state Charlotte, and he made the most of his first opportunity to start a regular season game.

Harrell kicked off the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Nesbit with 8:43 left in the first quarter. After the Niners responded with a field goal, he then orchestrated a drive that culminated in a 37-yard Nate McCollum rushing touchdown with 3:16 left in the period.

While the Niners cut the lead to 14-6 in the second quarter, Harrell extended the lead to 21-6 with six minutes to go in the half thanks to a 4-yard touchdown run.

He was forced to respond to an early Charlotte touchdown in the third quarter, but he did so with his most explosive play of the day. Harrell launched a 58-yard touchdown pass to Christian Hamilton to extend the lead back to 28-13.

The Tar Heels finished the day with 490 yards of total offense as they continued to pull away, with an interception serving as Harrell’s only true low point.

UNC is now 2-0 and will face North Carolina Central on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. The game will stream on ACC Network Extra and ESPN+.

Harrell’s lone start before the Charlotte game was in the 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia.

Filling in for quarterback Drake Maye who declared for the NFL Draft, he went 22-for-33 for 270 yards and two passing touchdowns along with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

He had five total appearances in the 2023 season as a redshirt freshman, including two touchdowns against Campbell.

At Thompson, Harrell was the 2020 Class 7A Back of the Year and the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior while throwing for 3,405 yards and 40 touchdowns. He was a starter during both the Warriors’ 2020 and 2021 state championship seasons, with his teams going 27-1 in that time.