Max Johnson chose to use his final season of eligibility to play for Mack Brown at North Carolina, his third school in five seasons.
After completing a full spring with the Tar Heels, Johnson compared his experience so far in Chapel Hill to the first few months he spent at his previous two stops, LSU and Texas A&M.
“I’d say it’s very similar,” Johnson said after North Carolina’s spring game last month. “My Spring game was a little different at A&M, just because we did so many special teams beforehand, we did 7-on-7. We didn’t do that today just because we didn’t have a lot of guys healthy at the receiver spot. But I think they’re very similar. We never actually filled out at A&M in the beginning, so I think that was pretty smart not to get guys hurt. And I know Omarion [Hampton] didn’t really go today, just because we don’t want to get hurt. I think it’s very similar, just the whole Spring game thing.”
Johnson would finish last month’s spring game playing across two series and completing 8 of his 9 passes for 80 yards. Despite having to come in, learn a new system and piece it together 15 practices later — Johnson has nothing but positive takeaways following the spring slate. “I think I got better over that time period,” he said.
While he didn’t exactly get to show off his skills in front of fans one thing is for sure — Johnson has the experience that it takes to get the job done under center. Across four seasons with the LSU Tigers and the Aggies, Johnson has thrown for 5,853 yards and 47 touchdowns while completing 60.5 percent of his passes. He signed with LSU as part of the Class of 2020 and was the Tigers’ starter in 2021, throwing for 27 touchdowns.
Following that season, he entered the transfer portal and joined his brother, Jake Johnson, at Texas A&M. He played in 12 games for the Aggies during his two years in College Station, serving as a part-time starter.
Now, Max Johnson gets to spend all of summer and fall camps to improve his chemistry with “special” teammates and master the Tar Heels’ offense ahead of the season opener against Minnesota on Aug. 29. He’ll get his first taste of ACC action when UNC travels to in-state rival Duke in the conference opener on Sept. 28.