UNC quarterback Max Johnson thought he might lose his leg after a gruesome injury last season. Now, he's back competing for the starting job.
CHAPEL HILL — Wearing a sleeve on his right leg, Max Johnson started warming up with the UNC football team at 9:22 a.m. on Aug. 2, under cloudy skies and drizzling rain at the Bill Koman Practice Complex.
At 9:34, Johnson started taking snaps in a drill, handing the ball off to a running back before progressing to passes. At 9:39, with the rain starting to reach the turf field at a faster rate, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound quarterback twirled a damp football in his left hand before stepping over a string of agility dummy pads, shuffling his feet forward and back for roughly five seconds before stepping through on his right leg to fire a pass.
At 11:58, Johnson walked up to a podium inside the Kenan Football Center with a smile stretching across his face, exhaling as he recalled a rough recovery journey from a horrific leg injury that preceded his return to the Tar Heels ahead of the 2025 season.
“There was a point in time where I thought I was going to lose my leg,” said Johnson, UNC’s starting quarterback in the 2024 season opener at Minnesota before a season-ending injury in the third quarter of that game ended his year.
“Got blessed to be able to continue to play football. Man, what an honor it is just to be back playing. All the coaches believed in me, and I kind of believed in myself, and the Lord put me in this position to glorify Him through what I’m doing. Man, what a journey it’s been.”
UNC quarterback Max Johnson leg injury required five surgeries, months of recovery
A 24-year-old quarterback from Athens, Ga. and the son of Super Bowl-winning QB Brad Johnson, Max Johnson is entering his sixth season of college football.
“I thank the Lord that I was able to come back and finally be fully healthy now,” Johnson said. “I just want to praise God for finally putting me in this position.”
Looking back at the first game of his fifth season, when he went down in the third quarter against the Golden Gophers, Johnson immediately knew he had suffered an injury that was “pretty serious.” He couldn’t tell if it was his right knee or leg, but he remembers laying on the field, “ticked off” that he couldn’t play before wrapping his arms around the trainers.
“As soon as I got picked up, my leg kind of slipped out and I kind of felt it dangling. Right then and there, I knew it was my femur,” Johnson said.
That was the beginning of what Johnson described as a “crazy, crazy journey” to reach the first day of preseason practice in 2025 under first-year coach Bill Belichick.
After five surgeries and two weeks in Minneapolis, Johnson was bedridden, surrounded by unknowns at the start of a long recovery process in which he couldn’t even sit up for several weeks.
“Fifth year in college, getting (my clothes) changed by my parents,” Johnson said.
He recalls being “so happy” when he was able to take his first steps in October, starting the “long hours of rehab." Seven days a week, three hours daily in a training room, “just grinding away” with scar tissue massages, stim machine treatments and running in water on a treadmill.
Johnson documented the journey, releasing video of his treatment and recovery routine on social media in April. He thought he might be ready for spring practice in April, but it was too early.
A few weeks later, he started to feel “really good,” being able to put his “best foot forward” during the summer months as he worked toward his goal of being cleared before preseason practice in August.
“I always believed that I was going to be back on the field, doing what I was supposed to be doing,” Johnson said. “I set my mind on, ‘I’m gonna be ready for the season.’ That’s where I am.”
Max Johnson injury update: Tar Heels QB ‘100% healthy’
When asked if he’s been cleared to be a full participant in practice as UNC prepares for TCU on Sept. 1 in the season opener at Kenan Stadium, Johnson didn’t leave anything to question.
“I’m fully recovered now, 100% healthy, running, back to where I was,” he said.
Belichick, who praised Johnson’s work ethic throughout the offseason, reiterated that positive message.
“He’s made a tremendous amount of progress throughout the process. But really it’s that last, call it 20% between not being able to play and really being ready to play, ready to start training camp, which is where he is now,” Belichick said.
“He didn’t take any meaningful snaps in the spring. He worked out on his own, he threw some routes, but he wasn’t involved in the team drills. It’s a big jump for him, in terms of what he’s able to do. Although I think the progression is very gradual — it’s 1% at a time, 1% at a time — at some point, he’s crossed that threshold. He’ll be ready to participate out there with all of the other players.”
For now, the opportunity to compete is enough for Johnson, who will be in a quarterback battle with South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez for the right to be UNC’s starter.
“The best man’s gonna play. Whoever that is, I know Coach Belichick will make the best decision,” Johnson said. “I’m just blessed to be here to be able to compete. It just feels good to be able to do it again.”
Following his 10-minute press conference at the end of UNC’s first preseason practice, Johnson walked away from the podium without a noticeable limp. It was another positive step toward the promise of a new season.
“I was just so joyful to be out there today,” he said. “I couldn’t stop smiling.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Max Johnson returns to UNC football practice after horrific leg injury
Category: General Sports
