Can UNC quarterback Max Johnson keep his dream alive?

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Max Johnson seethed as he stared at the clock on the wall in his hospital room. He could not move his right leg, bandaged from hip to foot after surgery to fix a broken femur. He smelled like days-old sweat. Though his foot felt numb, the pain up and down his leg sometimes brought him to tears.

He always had been a guy who relied on his faith, but this injury was testing him. Johnson had transferred to North Carolina for what he thought would be a fifth and final college season. He'd hoped for a relatively straightforward time in Chapel Hill: a solid year that would lead him seamlessly into the NFL, just like Drake Maye and Sam Howell -- the quarterbacks who preceded him at UNC.

Instead, three quarters into the opener at Minnesota in 2024, Johnson had been carted off the field while he held his bones in place. He could not get past all the questions swirling in his head as he listened to the second hand on the clock tick.

Why me?

Tick.

Why now?

Tick.

What next?

Tick.

Every second in that bed meant no football, and no football meant no NFL, the only dream he'd ever had. Even as he laid there, having suffered an injury on the football field most commonly seen after high-speed car wrecks, the draft was a first-level concern. That was nothing new. Max's dad, former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, remembers driving a young Max and two friends when they started talking about what they wanted to be as grown-ups.

Max turned to his friends and said, "I'm No. 14. I'm going to be like my dad."

So, despite the anger, frustration and disappointment, despite the months of excruciating surgeries and rehab ahead of him, he knew, in that hospital bed, that his dreams had not changed. He was no quitter.

NEVER QUITTING IS part of the Johnson family mythology. Brad began his college career as a third-string quarterback at Florida State before working his way up the depth chart to start. The Vikings drafted him in the ninth round in 1992. Again, he was buried on the depth chart. But he played 17 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. There is a photo from the postgame celebration: Johnson has his back to the camera, holding his 18-month-old son. Max looks into the camera, a slight smile forming, as a crowd envelops them.

Everybody in the family is athletic and competitive. Nikki Johnson, Max's mom, played volleyball at South Florida and set school records for kills, digs and hitting percentage. Her sister also played volleyball, and her brother, Mark Richt, played quarterback at Miami before eventually coaching at Georgia and Miami.

Max has always held onto hope. Brad tells a story to that point. Max was in sixth grade; Brad was his coach. They were down 16 points with 12 seconds to go. Brad was ready to run out the clock, but Max would not have it.

"I swear he yelled at me because the game wasn't over," Brad says. "He's that kid that believes the game is not over until the clock hits double zero."

Max grew into an elite quarterback prospect in the class of 2020, signing with LSU out of high school. He played in six games as a true freshman and made two starts, then started all 12 games in 2021. But then-coach Ed Orgeron was fired, and Johnson transferred to Texas A&M to play for then-coach Jimbo Fisher. But multiple injuries marred his two seasons with the Aggies, and Fisher was fired there, too, leaving Johnson with another decision after the 2023 season. North Carolina under then-coach Mack Brown seemed the best choice for him to get to the NFL.

"I think it was really big for me to watch Sam and Drake over the last few years under Coach Brown light it up, make plays with their legs, and I feel like that could do that," Max Johnson says. "I wanted to play one year and go pro. That was my plan.

"Then the injury happened."

THIRD-AND-10 FROM THE North Carolina 33, late third quarter. North Carolina trails Minnesota 14-10. Johnson drops back to throw a backside curl route. As he releases the ball, Minnesota cornerback Justin Walley hits him on a blitz and starts to take him down to the ground. As Johnson begins to land awkwardly on his right leg, pinned under Walley, Darnell Jefferies hits him high.

Johnson says he remembers being on the ground, staring at the dark night sky. He felt indescribable pain. It was hard to breathe. Then and there, he knew his season was over. He said he believed he had torn a knee ligament.

Frustration and anger set in. Trainers asked if he could get up. Johnson said no. When they picked him up to assist him off the field, Johnson felt his femur shift out of place and his foot dangle. He knew then his leg was broken.

Johnson made it to the sideline, but the pain was too intense to make it to the locker room. The cart came out, and all Johnson remembers is the pain. Teammates came over to give him words of encouragement. His brother, Jake, a tight end on the team, told Max he loved him.

As he made his way off the field, Johnson thought about giving a thumbs-up to show he was OK. But he was not OK. Brad and Nikki, watching from the stands, had no idea how badly Max was hurt. But they knew something was terribly wrong when the cart came out and they began to make their way down to the tunnel to find him.

Trainers tried to put on an air cast, but the pain was too intense. They gave Johnson morphine, but he still felt pain every time the broken bone shifted inside his leg, a sensation Johnson described as "flopping back and forth." The ride to the hospital was horrible, every bump more painful than the last.

Once he arrived, he was placed on a hospital bed. He couldn't help but ask for the score of the game. Backup Conner Harrell had led North Carolina to a 19-17 victory.

The doctors told Johnson, still in his football gear, that they needed to take him back for an X-ray. They cut off his uniform, pads and all. Johnson sat there in his underwear, sweaty and bloody, crying, in a daze.

The X-ray confirmed the broken leg. He also had to hold his bones in place during that process. You can see his right hand in the image, holding just underneath the bone.

By this time, his parents had arrived at the hospital from the game. UNC trainer David Mincberg was there as well. Jake also asked to go to the hospital, but his parents told him it would be best to go back with the team to Chapel Hill.

Because it was so late in the evening, Johnson would have to wait until morning for surgery. To help keep the bone in place through the night, Johnson had a hole drilled through his tibia, where doctors inserted a string and attached a five-pound weight, which hung off the side of the bed. Max's parents and Mincberg slept in chairs in his room, refusing to leave him alone.

Dr. David Templeman, who performed the surgery at Hennepin County Medical Center, said he had never seen an in-game injury like that to an athlete. During surgery, Templeman inserted a metal rod that ran from Johnson's hip to his knee to stabilize the injury.

After the surgery, Johnson realized his leg felt numb and started to panic. Doctors came in and started touching his feet. Johnson saw their demeanors shift from mild concern to outright worry. The initial operation had caused pressure to build up in his leg, a problem that sometimes occurs after surgery. Johnson feared amputation was a possibility, but Templeman says his team was able to react quickly enough to avoid that scenario.

To ease the pressure that had built up, doctors placed a wound vacuum in Johnson's leg to help reduce swelling. Johnson would undergo other surgeries -- he'd have five in total -- to close the wound once the pressure eased. But he also had to get up and start walking to not only avoid blood clots but to start restoring the function of his leg.

Johnson initially needed multiple people to help him out of bed. His mom held the vacuum attached to his leg while Johnson held onto a walker. He took 12 steps, turned around and took 12 steps back.

"I was absolutely gassed. The most tired I've ever been in my life," he said.

Johnson had already lost weight, and his hemoglobin levels had deteriorated so much that he needed a blood transfusion. Templeman told him it could take months to a year for full feeling to return in his foot. Johnson hated it when anyone touched his feet, but that was about to change.

"I'm not kidding you. I must have touched that kid's foot 1,000 times," Nikki Johnson said. "I know this is not scientific, but I will stick by this: Touching it and moving it and rubbing it helped those nerves regenerate. I believe there was some supernatural healing there. Maybe that's just what I want to believe. But the doctors were amazed that his feeling and function came back so quickly."

Max stayed in the hospital nine days. Despite the ordeal, the Johnsons asked repeatedly whether he could play football again. Templeman said, "Hopefully." The Johnsons said they were given a recovery timeline of six months to a year.

"That's all we needed to hear," Nikki said.

Johnson knew injuries like this were exceedingly rare in football players, and only a handful had ever come back to play. So, obviously, he gave himself just six months to make it back.

AFTER LEAVING THE hospital, Johnson stayed in Minneapolis until doctors cleared him for air travel back to Chapel Hill. The family stayed with Brad's friends from his time with the Vikings.

Max had yet to shower since the injury. But the shower was up the stairs, and he could not bend his bandaged leg. Max broke into a cold sweat debating whether to attempt the stairs or not. He begged his parents to help him. They relented.

He was able to make it up four steps before taking a break. Then he went up another four steps before stopping for another break. It went like this until he made it to the top ... an hour and a half later. Max was wiped out.

When he finally got into the shower, he sat in a chair, his leg wrapped and sticking out the open shower door. He sat for 15 minutes, water finally washing him clean. "One of the best feelings in my life," he says.

When he was done, he realized he now had to make his way down the stairs. It was easier to get down but still took time and an enormous amount of effort. Max needed help to do everything, from using the restroom to getting dressed and undressed every day. He felt like a child again.

Mincberg stayed the entire time, often doing shopping runs to stock up on clothes, food and other necessities for the four of them. His parents took care of him day after day, without hesitation. "They became my best friends," Max says.

The following Saturday, he put on the UNC game against Charlotte and tried to figure out the offensive game plan just to keep his mind occupied. On Sept. 11, Johnson saw Templeman for a follow-up appointment and was cleared to return home. UNC sent a charter plane to bring Johnson, his parents and Mincberg back to Chapel Hill.

MAX GOT BACK to the apartment he shared with Jake. His parents rented one in Chapel Hill to continue to help. Nikki, Brad and Jake did whatever Max needed -- from cooking to cleaning to helping him get from one appointment to the next.

Max could not drive, nor could he attend class in person because he was unable to sit in chairs. He also remained away from the team. The first few weeks home were a slog. He had trouble sleeping and would get about only two hours at a time. Sometimes he would stay awake all night.

He remembers one day he wanted to try to work out in the gym in his apartment complex, just to feel active again. He used his crutches to make it there. He picked up seven-pound weights and did curls to an overhead shoulder press. After 15 minutes, he was exhausted. It took him 25 minutes to get back to his apartment.

He still felt angry and frustrated, unable to play the sport that made him feel complete. The doubts about his future were there constantly. Max relishes his ability to run, because most people assume he's slow. He ran a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. Would he ever gain back that speed? And even if he did, it was a near certainty he would face another quarterback competition, just as he had every other year he spent in college.

In late September, he took out his journal and started writing, letting go of his anger. He realized the injury gave him time to slow down, rethink his values and remember why he plays. He grew stronger in his faith and his conviction he would play again.

The mindset shift did not lessen the reality of his situation. Even if Max made it all the way back to the football field, there still might not be an NFL future. He pressed on nonetheless.

Eventually, he was able to go to one team meeting a week, where he had a special chair that allowed him to sit. He used FaceTime whenever he could. In October, Brad drove Max to one of his rehab appointments. He waited in the car for Max to finish and fell asleep, but then awoke to a knock on the window.

"Dad! I can walk!"

Brad got out of the car. Max took eight steps without his crutches. They cried.

Part of his initial rehab was simply focusing on bending his leg and perfecting his walking form. Max would stare at himself in the mirror, his right leg thinned out compared to his left. He had to work on making sure he was not putting too much pressure on his left leg to compensate for the injury to his right.

The bone was still broken, so he felt constant pain. But Johnson says to return to football form, he could not wait for the bone to heal completely.

"If you don't walk on it in a certain amount of time, then the bone will never really heal back to where you want it to be," Johnson says.

Eventually, Johnson started walking on an underwater treadmill. Around Thanksgiving, he transitioned from walking to slowly running on the same machine. There would be more challenges ahead. Brown was fired as coach before the final game of the regular season. Johnson faced the prospect of playing for a fourth head coach and sixth offensive coordinator, without knowing whether he would be healthy enough to compete for a starting job in 2025. Uncertainty filled the first weeks of December.

But Johnson remained adamant he wanted to play a sixth season, and that he wanted to stay at North Carolina.

IF YOU HAD told Max Johnson in high school that he would play for three coaches who won a national championship and one who won six Super Bowls, there is no way he would have believed you.

Transferring for a third time after the coaching change never entered his mind. The thought of playing for the coach who was with Tom Brady in New England excited Johnson. The two had an honest conversation about where Johnson stood after Belichick arrived on campus. Asked why he decided to give Johnson a chance, Belichick says simply, "Why not?"

The truth is, Belichick owes Johnson nothing. Coaches taking over programs flip rosters to fit their needs. The current Tar Heels roster features more than 40 transfers and 17 true freshmen, including ESPN300 quarterback Bryce Baker. Though Johnson was injured, he had been playing college ball for longer than every other player in the quarterbacks room and could provide valuable knowledge and steady leadership as he worked to return.

The rehab was going slower than Johnson had hoped. Initially, he wanted to be ready in time for spring football in March. But he was not fully healed and could not run and cut the way he needed to.

North Carolina had a decision to make once spring practice wrapped in April. Given the uncertainty around Johnson and the departure of quarterback Ryan Browne to Purdue, North Carolina signed quarterback Gio Lopez from South Alabama. Johnson says he understood.

"I get it. You have to go in the portal," Johnson says. "I didn't know if I was going to be ready. They didn't know. They asked me those questions. I'm telling them I'm going to be ready, because I know myself. But it's tough from their point of view because it's like, 'OK, we've got to make a business decision.'"

Johnson welcomed Lopez without reservation, helping him get up to speed with the offense.

"I transfer in, we're both competing for the spot, and people paint this narrative like they must not like each other. Me and Max are actually great friends," Lopez said. "He's been super helpful with the offense. There's no second agenda with him, where he's trying to throw me off. He's been great."

Johnson worked every day, three hours a day, not only with his physical therapy but other forms of rehab, from scar tissue massage to electric stimulation.

"He never took a day off," Jake says. "I know having a career in the NFL is his dream, and he's not going to let [anything] stop him."

Finally, several weeks after spring practice ended, Max was able to fully drop back with no pain. Max says that moment was "probably one of the best feelings I've ever felt."

Johnson says his leg is fully healed and he is "ready to roll" for fall camp. He says he did every run and every lift with the team this summer and feels as good as he did last year. Templeman and the staff at the hospital have been amazed by his progress.

"Out of all the people I've taken care of in my career, he's probably in the 100th percentile for [getting] healthy," Templeman said. "It's exceptional even within the realm of being an athlete."

Now that fall camp has started, Johnson says the coaching staff told him he would be given a fair shot to win the starting job. Whether he does remains to be seen as the season opener against TCU on Labor Day inches closer.

"It's not us picking them, it'll be that player earning it -- then we'll decide on that," Belichick said the day fall practice began. "If it's clear-cut, then that player will be the player. If it's not clear-cut, maybe the competition will continue into the early part of the season."

Asked what he hopes for this season, Johnson says, "I want to play."

MAX STILL KEEPS the white No. 14 Carolina jersey he wore in the opener last year, cut down the middle, as a reminder not only of how far he has come, but how much putting that jersey on means to him. There might be those who wonder why he would put himself through the agony of nearly a year of rehab without any guarantee that he would play again. Johnson has a quick retort: Nothing in life is guaranteed, so why not spend each day doing what you love?

"When it's in you and something that you enjoy, you can't listen to the noise of what someone else thinks," Brad says. "It has to be your passion, your dream. You have to look back on your story and have no regrets. The chance for him to have the ball in his hands, the feeling of calling the play in the huddle, the feeling of the game, it matters."

For now, Max is not listed among the quarterbacks to watch for the 2026 NFL draft. ESPN NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid said there's a "wait-and-see approach," not only because of the injury but because it's not known yet how much he will play.

But Max sees his dad as the perfect example -- someone who overcame his own roller-coaster college career to not only make it in the NFL but persevere and find a way to win at the highest level.

"I want to play football," Max says. "That's what I want to do. I'll never give up."