The 2025 North Carolina football team is the most interesting in the country this season. That is all because Bill Belichick has taken over the reins as the head coach. The Tar Heels said goodbye to many players and brought in a lot. One of the more interesting players they said goodbye to was Conner Harrell, who transferred to Charlotte and was recently named the starter. The Tar Heels play Charlotte in Week 2.
ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel was the first to report that Conner Harrell was named the starter for the Charlotte 49ers. He will be the first starter under new coach Tim Albin. He started three games for the Tar Heels before transferring, and he will start for the 49ers against the North Carolina football team in Week 2 when Charlotte plays them at home.
Pete Thamel posted to X: “Charlotte is naming redshirt junior transfer Conner Harrell the starting quarterback, and he’ll debut for the 49ers against Appalachian State on Friday night. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who started three games while at North Carolina.
“One of those starts came in UNC’s win over Charlotte in 2024. In Week 2, he’s in line to start against UNC when Charlotte hosts Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels. Harrell has four touchdown passes, two runs, and 560 passing yards in 11 total games.
“He won a quarterback battle that included former Duke quarterback Grayson Loftis and former Southern Miss quarterback Zach Wilcke. Harrell will be the first starter for new coach Tim Albin, who came from Ohio.”
As a three-star prospect out of Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala., Conner Harrell ranked No. 796 overall and No. 45 among quarterbacks on the 247Sports 2022 Composite.
The Tar Heels went with a roster almost entirely different from what they looked like last season. They only have six starters from last season, four on offense and two on defense. The starting quarterback for the 2025 North Carolina football team has not officially been announced yet, but it looks like it will be South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez under center.
The matchup between Conner Harrell and the Charlotte 49ers and the Tar Heels in Week 2 has an added wrinkle because he's starting, and it is at home in Jerry Richardson Stadium.
