North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson underwent season-ending surgery for his broken right leg on Friday in Minneapolis.
Johnson got hurt Thursday when he was hit while throwing a pass in the third quarter of the Tar Heels’ 19-17 win over Minnesota in the season opener. He was carted off the field and taken to a local hospital.
The game was the beginning of Johnson’s fifth college season at his third school. He played for LSU in 2020 and 2021, then for Texas A&M in 2022 and 2023.
Johnson earned the start on Thursday and completed 12 of 19 passes for 71 yards with one interception.
Tar Heels senior linebacker Power Echols said, according to the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer, “We looked at (Johnson after he got hurt). We said, ‘We got you. We’re going to win this for you.'”
After he was injured, Conner Harrell took over under center. He connected on two of his four passes for 34 yards, and he led North Carolina on a six-play, 48-yard drive that culminated in Noah Burnette’s game-deciding 45-yard field goal with 1:44 to play.
Last year, Johnson appeared in eight games for the Aggies, hitting on 62.1 percent of his passes for 1,452 yards and nine touchdowns with five interceptions. Overall in his college career, he has a 60.5 percent completion rate, 5,923 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Johnson also has rushed for six touchdowns.
The Tar Heels play host to Charlotte on Saturday. They open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sept. 28 at Duke.
–Field Level Media
