Jacolby Criswell (born October 16, 2001) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

East Tennessee State Buccaneers The East Tennessee State Buccaneers are the 17 intercollegiate athletics teams that represent East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, Tennessee. ETSU's teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, socce ...

. He has previously played for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

and

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

Early life and high school

Criswell attended

Morrilton High School Morrilton High School is a Comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school serving students in grades nine through twelve in Morrilton, Arkansas, United States. It is in Conway County, Arkansas, Conway County and is the sole high school ...

Morrilton, Arkansas Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, Conway County, Arkansas, United States, less than northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. The city is the county seat of Conway County. The population was 6,992 at the 2020 United States ce ...

. He was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to play

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

College career

North Carolina

As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2020, Criswell completed three of four passes for 16 yards and an interception and rushed for 26 yards. In 2021, he played four games and made one start; he completed 13 of 21 passes for 179 yard and a touchdown and rushed for 68 yards and a score. In week 12 of that season, Criswell made his first collegiate start against Wofford, filling in for injured starter

Sam Howell Samuel Duke Howell (born September 16, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels footba ...

. He completed 11 of 19 pass attempts for 125 yards, and ran the ball five times for 66 yards and a touchdown, playing in the first half of the Tar Heels' 34-14 win. Following Howell's departure for the NFL, Criswell lost the starting quarterback competition to

Drake Maye Drake Lee Maye (born August 30, 2002) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels football, ...

, and again saw limited action in 2022. He went two for six for nine yards and rushed for 39 yards on four carries. Criswell entered the transfer portal following the season.

Arkansas

Criswell transferred back to his home state of Arkansas, to play for the

. Again serving as a backup, he completed 17 of 27 passing attempts for 143 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding 44 yards on the ground. After the season, Criswell entered the NCAA transfer portal.

North Carolina (second stint)

On April 30, 2024, Criswell transferred back to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

after one season at Arkansas. He returned to Chapel Hill during the summer, and joined the quarterback competition with

Max Johnson Max Johnson (born July 25, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina Tar Heels. Johnson attended and played high school football at Oconee County High School in Watkinsville, Georgia and ...

and Conner Harrell. Johnson initially won the starting position before getting injured, moving both Harrell and Criswell up the depth chart. After backing up Harrell against Charlotte, the two split time the following week against NC Central, with Criswell completing 14 of 23 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in a win. He was named the starter for the Tar Heels' matchup versus

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, throwing for 475 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions in a 70-50 loss. His 475 passing yards were third most in a single game in program history. Criswell started the next week also, against rivals

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, going 21 for 39 with 251 passing yards and two touchdowns. He threw a game-sealing interception on the final possession as the Tar Heels fell 21-20. In his fifth start of the season, Criswell threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-14 victory over rivals

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, ending a four-game losing streak. The following week, he completed 13 of the 17 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown in a 35-11 win over FSU. On January 15, 2025, Criswell entered the transfer portal.

East Tennessee State

On January 21, 2025, Criswell transferred to

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

Statistics

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bioArkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criswell, Jacolby 2001 births Living people Players of American football from Arkansas People from Morrilton, Arkansas American football quarterbacks North Carolina Tar Heels football players Arkansas Razorbacks football players