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Redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell will get his second career start and first of the season when North Carolina hosts Charlotte on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Harrell was thrust into action when starter Max Johnson sustained a season-ending leg injury in the third quarter of the season opener at Minnesota on Aug. 29.
The Tar Heels (1-0) were down 14-10 to the Golden Gophers when Harrell entered in the third quarter. He was only 2-of-4 passing for 34 yards the rest of the way, but one completion was a 32-yard strike to J.J. Jones in the fourth quarter that led to Noah Burnette's decisive 45-yard field goal with 1:45 left in the Heels' 19-17 win.
"All of us need to rally around Conner and step up because he's really good," North Carolina coach Mack Brown said.
Harrrell started last season's Duke's Mayo Bowl when Drake Maye sat out the postseason affair and was 18-of-27 passing for 199 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the Tar Heels' 30-10 loss to West Virginia.
"We've got to make sure we figure out what he does best and let him do that," Brown said. "Obviously, everybody is going to stack the box to stop (number) 28. So everything you do is to counteract that."
No. 28 in the Tar Heels' backfield is running back Omari Hampton, who rushed for 129 yards and caught five passes in the win at Minnesota.
Charlotte (0-1) is coming off a 30-7 loss to James Madison, but coach Biff Poggi is hoping to have available a couple of the eight starters back after they sat out the opener because of injuries.
"We'll pick up one or two defensive linemen," said Poggi, who has a policy of not naming injured players. "We had three out and we'll pick up one. But he'll be on a pitch count.
"It looks like we've lost an offensive lineman, another one in the game, but I think we're getting one back there. Everybody else should be kind of like they were last week."
Quarterback Max Brown was 22 of 45 for 193 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss to James Madison. Terron Kellman was the 49ers' leading rusher with 76 yards on nine carries.
Sean Brown caught a game-high six passes for a team-high 70 yards, while Isaiah Myers scored Charlotte's lone touchdown - a 26-yarder in the second quarter -- for one of his two receptions.
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American Conference commissioner addresses Memphis-UTSA leaked playbook scandal
A former Memphis football player has been accused of sharing the team’s playbook with an opponent before the two schools played one another last year, but American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti believes the story has been blown out of proportion. TigerSportsReport, which is part of the On3 network, reported last week that former Memphis safety Tahj Ra-El shared some of Memphis’ defensive playbook with UTSA before the two teams played on Nov. 2 last year. UTSA won the game 44-36. Then on Thursday, TigerSportsReport obtained a screenshot that claimed to show direct messages that were exchanged between Ra-El and UTSA quarterback Owen McCown. The messages featured a photo of what appeared to be a playbook and Ra-El telling McCown “that’s all the signals.” Ra-El also appeared to tell McCown that one of Memphis’ players was injured. McCown threw for threw for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns in UTSA’s win over Memphis, which was nationally ranked at the time. Ra-El transferred to Purdue this offseason. There were reports that he had left Memphis last October, but TigerSportsReport was told Ra-El was dismissed by the Tigers. On Friday, Pernetti told reporters that he believes the story about the leaked playbook has been “sensationalized.” “We’re aware of it and we’re supporting the schools in it, but what I can tell you is there’s really not much to this story. I think a lot of it has been sensationalized. Some of it, I think quite frankly, is clickbait,” Pernetti said. If Ra-El was, indeed, dismissed from Memphis, it is not hard to believe that he would have had an axe to grind with the team. That makes it more plausible that he shared sensitive information with an opposing player, especially if he was not even playing for the Tigers at the time.
Why as many as 100 NFL players are facing fines and potential suspension
There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
'In what world does this make sense?’: Oilers and $63M forward
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
Aaron Boone Makes Feelings Clear After Yankees’ Big Trade
The New York Yankees didn't come into the season with the strongest third base situation, and it only got worse over time. They converted traditional second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the hot corner after getting him at the Trade Deadline last season and installed a timeshare with him, DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera there in 2025. However, the latter player broke his ankle on May 12, and the Yankees released the now 37-year-old LeMahieu on July 10. Chisholm was primarily back at second at that point, so this left Peraza and Jorbit Vivas as their only true remaining third basemen. With Peraza hitting .147 and Vivas hitting .164, it was clear what the team's biggest need was. That's why it acquired veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies on Friday. New York manager Aaron Boone gave his thoughts about the 30-year-old before Friday's bout with the Philadelphia Phillies, via SNY. "I know there's real offensive potential there. I know he's had real offensive success, as well as some struggles there over the last calendar year or two," he said. "It seems like over the last month he's really started swinging the bat like he's capable of. He can impact the ball, he can control the strike zone, he's had some swing-and-misses that have probably hurt him a little bit." "But then he can really defend over there," he continued. "The handful of times that we've played against them that I watch him, you're like, 'That's what it should look like over there.' He moves really well and has that prototypical good third base thing." McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers and 35 RBI over 100 games this season. He also has a .978 fielding percentage and six errors. Right-handed pitcher Will Warren (6-5, 4.91 ERA) will start for the Yankees against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75 ERA) on Friday.
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