North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the news on Friday.

Johnson, a graduate student, has played six seasons of collegiate football with three different programs (LSU, Texas A&M, and North Carolina). He however has played just five games over the past two seasons in Chapel Hill, and plans to appeal for an additional year of eligibility to play elsewhere, according to Inside Carolina.

This past season, Johnson played in just four games under first-year head coach Bill Belichick. All four of his appearances resulted in losses, as he completed 54/87 passes for 432 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson’s career began in Baton Rouge, as he originally committed to LSU in Nov. 2018. He split starting quarterback duties with Myles Brennan in 2020 and won the job outright in 2021. Across two seasons as an LSU Tiger, Johnson passed for 3,884 yards, 35 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Following a disappointing 6-7 2021 season however, he jumped into the Portal for the first time and ended up in College Station.

Max Johnson has played in 35 career games across three programs

Just like at LSU, Johnson spent two seasons at Texas A&M. His first year was cut short after just four games, which paved the way for college football veterans Haynes King and Conner Weigman to assume quarterback duties. Weigman opened the 2023 season as A&M’s starting quarterback, but Johnson once again took over the starting spot following Weigman’s season-ending injury in the fourth game of the season.

He played in eight games that season, starting five. Johnson led the Aggies to a 2-3 record in games he started, but once again ran into injury trouble that forced him to miss the last four games of the season. He then entered the Portal for the second time and ended up at North Carolina in 2024, but suffered a season-ending broken leg in the Tar Heels’ season opener at Minnesota.

Finally, this past season, Johnson played in just four games, but it was a miracle he was even able to return to the field at all following the catastrophic injury.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s just I’m blessed to be able to play football again, and just want to give God all the credit, man, so blessed just to be here and playing this game that I love,” Johnson said after Carolina’s season-opening loss to TCU.

The Athens native hasn’t played in 12 games since 2021. He will still seek one more year of eligibility to finish his career on a high note.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.