QB guru sees a big similarity between UNC’s Mitch Trubisky, LSU transfer Brandon Harris

The private coach for Brandon Harris says the former LSU quarterback is excited about getting a fresh start at North Carolina and hopes to duplicate Mitch Trubisky’s one-year success story at Chapel Hill.

Harris announced two weeks ago he would enroll at UNC as a graduate transfer in the fall following a disappointing three-year stint for his home-state Tigers. Harris failed to hold his starting job and never completed more than 56 percent of his passes in a season.

Harris will become the Tar Heels’ most experienced candidate to replace Trubisky, who sat behind Marquise Williams for several seasons before starting last year. Now Trubisky, along with Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, is among the top quarterback prospects in this month’s NFL draft.

George Whitfield, the California-based quarterbacks coach, believes Harris could enjoy a rise similar to Trubisky’s.

“Trubisky had 12 games and he’s sitting at the same table as Deshaun Watson,” Whitfield said Thursday while attending the first round of the Masters.

Whitfield thinks Larry Fedora’s system will be a better fit for Harris than the pro-style system LSU ran under former coach Les Miles.

Whitfield said Harris was forced to play as a freshman at LSU, conceding his early struggles were “a maturity thing.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "QB guru sees a big similarity between UNC’s Mitch Trubisky, LSU transfer Brandon Harris."