Two UNC quarterbacks earn prestigious offseason camp invites

The North Carolina Tar Heels enter their 2025 football season with plenty of hype, but also without a clear-cut answer at starting quarterback.

UNC began 2024 with Max Johnson , but he broke his leg in the opener at Minnesota. North Carolina then started Conner Harrell for a few games, but Jacolby Criswell quickly took over after proving to be more effective.

The Tar Heels were extremely active in the transfer portal , adding talented South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez . There's no telling yet whether Johnson or Lopez earns the starting nod, but a quarterback competition is certainly brewing in Chapel Hill.

As Johnson and Lopez continue competing for North Carolina's QB1 spot , they recently received some exciting news, with both earning invites to the prestigious Manning Passing Academy from June 26-29.

If the name doesn't give it away, the Manning Passing Academy is run by – you guessed it – Peyton , Eli and Archie Manning. Peyton is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Eli won two Super Bowls against Tom Brady and Archie is their dad.

Johnson brought four seasons of experience as an SEC starting quarterback into Chapel Hill, so he gives UNC the more experienced option. Lopez thrived during 2024, his first year as South Alabama's starter: 2,559 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 465 rushing yards and seven additional scores on the ground.

It's a pretty big deal for quarterbacks to receive Manning Passing Academy invites. North Carolina is in big need of consistent quarterback production this coming fall – are Johnson and Lopez ready to step up?

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC QBs Max Johnson, Gio Lopez invited to Manning Passing Academy