Marquise Williams is not North Carolina’s starting quarterback. Not according to Mitch Trubisky. Not yet.
Trubisky, a highly touted redshirt freshman, is in the mix for the job this spring along with Williams — who started the final five games of the 2013 season after Bryn Renner went down with a shoulder injury.
Some might think the more-experienced Williams, a redshirt junior, comes into next season with an edge.
Trubisky isn’t one of those people.
“I’m not looking up to him. I see this as a competition,” Trubisky said at Wednesday’s practice. “He was given the job last year because I was redshirting and Bryn went down, but as far as I’m concerned I have just as much equal right to be a starter this year as he does.”
Trubisky, ranked as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and a four-star recruit by Scout.com, is a quarterback with dual-threat skills — fitting nicely into UNC’s spread offense. A Mentor, Ohio, native, the 6-foot-3 Trubisky turned down football powerhouse Ohio State to sign with the Tar Heels.
Coach Larry Fedora said Wednesday he’s given Trubisky and Williams the same amount of reps this spring, splitting them evenly between first and second teams. He was noncommital about favoring one over the other, but he did praise Trubisky’s progress this spring.
“I think he’s doing really a nice job,” Fedora said. “He’s done a good job studying the game and understands what we’re trying to do.”
Williams, who threw for 1,698 yards last season and rushed for a team-leading 536, wasn’t surprised Wednesday when he heard Trubisky viewed the competition as an open one, saying he would say the same thing if he were in Trubisky’s position.
