The Tar Heels faded in past 2 years with QB Drake Maye. Now they must fix that issue without him

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Mack Brown's return to North Carolina stabilized the program. His sixth season begins with a pair of hurdles to accomplishing more.

The Tar Heels are moving forward after star quarterback Drake Maye headed to the NFL, and Brown is determined to figure out how to finish better after two straight late-season fades.

“It's a problem, it's an issue," Brown said. “And it's the only thing that's keeping us from being where we need to be.”

The Tar Heels were 9-1 in 2022 after clinching a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, then lost their last four. Last year's team started 6-0 and reached No. 10 in the AP Top 25, then finished 2-5.

Now Maye is gone as the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, and Brown is focused on how to get the Tar Heels to finish with some zip.

“When we come out here and say the offense had a bad day in practice, that means you’re probably going to be an inconsistent team,” Brown said after the first preseason-camp practice. “And we’ve had too much of that around here.”

This year's team is picked to finish eighth in the expanded 17-team ACC.

Brown is touting depth as the best of his second tenure in Chapel Hill, as well as showing optimism for growth under former Georgia Tech and Temple head coach Geoff Collins as defensive coordinator.

Maye is the highest-profile of 11 departed offensive and defensive starters, though losses include one of the nation's leading tacklers in linebacker Cedric Gray.

Powering the offense

Running back Omarion Hampton was an Associated Press second-team All-American last year after ranking fifth in the Bowl Subdivision by averaging 115.7 yards rushing. He's studied film on players like NFL star Christian McCaffrey to expand his game.

“I'm trying to catch the ball ... and then pass block, because I know that's what they do in the (NFL),” Hampton said. “I feel like doing that, it can expand my game and show them I'm able to do that as well.”

Maye's successor

The Tar Heels have a preseason-camp battle to replace Maye, headlined by redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell and Max Johnson, a transfer with stops at LSU and Texas A&M.

Harrell got his first career start in the Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to West Virginia after Maye declared for the NFL draft, throwing for 270 yards and two scores while also running for 75 yards and a score. Johnson, son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, has 22 career starts.

There's also the return of Jacolby Criswell, who started his career at UNC before transferring to Arkansas for a year.

Linework

Willie Lampkin, who started eight games at right guard last year, is the only returning starter to the offensive line. The Tar Heels bolstered their numbers at the position through the transfer portal, including adding Austin Blaske (Georgia), Howard Sampson (North Texas) and Jakiah Leftwich (Georgia Tech).

Brown said his goal is being able to reliably play nine offensive linemen.

More defensively

Brown is on the third defensive coordinator of his second UNC stint in Collins, who replaced Gene Chizik. UNC hasn't ranked higher than 10th in the 14-team ACC in scoring or total defense for the past three seasons. Losing Gray (10.1 tackles per game) won't help, though fellow linebacker Power Echols returns with pass rusher Kaimon Rucker (8 1/2 sacks last year).

“More aggression — ‘Master of Mayhem’ describes him perfectly,” Echols said of Collins. “He's going to call a real aggressive game."

Brown also sounded high on secondary that includes cornerback Alijah Huzzie (three interceptions) and adds safety Jakeen Harris from rival North Carolina State.

The schedule

The Tar Heels open at Minnesota on Aug. 29 and visit rival Duke (Sept. 28) in their ACC opener. There's also a trip to No. 10 Florida State (Nov. 2), the reigning league champion and preseason favorite. The slate doesn't include any of the league's three new schools and is rooted in longtime instate or league matchups, including a trip to Virginia (Oct. 26), a visit from Wake Forest (Nov. 16) and the home finale against No. 24 N.C. State (Nov. 30).