UNC QB Nathan Elliott says his mindset won’t change even if he knows he’ll be the starter

All spring, and once in July, North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora had said that he was looking for one of the quarterbacks — Nathan Elliott or Chazz Surratt — to separate themselves from the other when it came to determining who would start at the beginning of the season.

Turns out, Fedora had known all along.

Surratt is one of the 13 players who will be suspended this season for selling his team-issued Air Jordan Retro 3’s. That is a NCAA violation. Surratt will miss the first four games of the season.

UNC will travel across country to play the Cal on Sept. 1.

“Nathan Elliott is my starter going into the Cal game as of this time, yes,” Fedora said on Monday during a press conference.

Each year, teams are outfitted with shoes, shirts, shorts and other gear through their apparel contracts. UNC has a deal with Nike, and its football team had received the Nike Air Jordan shoes in January. More than 150 shoes were given to the players, coaching staff and others in the program.

But days later, some of the players had sold their shoes to shoe vendors and other teammates. UNC found out that players were selling their shoes for profit in January after a fan notified UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham. The university conducted an investigation, and suspended 13 players, some who sold their shoes for as much as $2,500. It self-reported the violation to the NCAA in February.

One of those players involved was Surratt, who had a chance to be the starter, had he not been involved in the sale of the shoes.

The quarterback competition was expected to be wide open. Surratt had beaten out Elliott in training camp last season. In the seven games he started, UNC won only once. He passed for 1,342 yards, ran for 210 yards, and had 13 total touchdowns (eight passing, five rushing). He also had three interceptions.

Elliott played in four games last season, starting the final three. He passed for 925 yards, had 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. In the three games he started, including one against Western Carolina, he had a 2-1 record.

Both quarterbacks showed a tendency to be inaccurate at times. Both had a completion percentage below 60 percent.

UNC reported to training camp on Aug. 2. Fedora said Monday that Elliott was a better player than he was last season. Elliott agreed.

“I think getting that experience at the end of the year last year helped me in a huge way,” Elliott said. “And just an extra year of going over the film and studying more.”

Surratt is expected to return when UNC plays Miami on Sept. 27. Whether he’ll still have a chance to compete for the starting role then will likely depend on how Elliott has played, and how Surratt has performed in practice. The suspended players are allowed to practice and participate in team activities outside of the games they will miss.

Elliott said the fact that he knows he’ll be the starter now as opposed to closer in the season will not affect his mindset.

“I’m going to just keep competing like I have been, keep working like I have been,” he said. “I’ve always worked like I was going to be the starter, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 5:46 PM.