UNC Football: Will Tar Heels flip FSU quarterback commit?

Will the UNC Football program be able to flip a four-star quarterback that is committed to Florida State? Their chances might just be improving as the days go on

The North Carolina Tar Heels are coming off a big recruiting weekend, seeing the program add to their 2019 class including the addition of four-star receiver Khafre Brown. Head coach Mack Brown is off to a solid start with this class after being hired just a few weeks ago.

UNC’s class is now up to 14 verbal commitments ahead of the Early Signing Period coming up in just over a week and they have the chance to add more to it.

The Tar Heels have been able to flip a few recruits so far in the 2019 class but their latest target would be the biggest one yet. Four-star quarterback Sam Howell is currently verbally committed to Florida State but the Tar Heels have picked up some momentum in his recruitment.

After Howell committed to Florida State in April, the Tar Heels kept in touch. The hiring of Brown drew some more interest for Howell and there’s some talk that UNC could actually flip the four-star quarterback from the Seminoles.

But the biggest factor in the recent push from the Tar Heels came when FSU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Walt Bell recently accepted the head coaching job at UMass.

That opened up the door a little bit for the Tar Heels who just named Phil Longo as their offensive coordinator.

Howell is currently practicing at the Shrine Bowl and caught up with Rivals reporter Adam Friedman to discuss his recruitment.

"“I’m 100-percent committed to FSU,” Howell said. “I’m waiting to see who they hire as the offensive coordinator. I’m also waiting to see who North Carolina, another school I’m interested in, hires for offensive coordinator. I still plan on signing in the early signing period unless something happens to change that.”"

Howell also mentioned that he’s talked to new UNC commit Khafre Brown and the two are close but he won’t commit to a school because of recruits.

The quarterback did say that he has a close relationship with UNC coaches including Tommy Thigpen who is one of the top recruiters on the Tar Heels’ staff.

With some time to go until the early signing day, UNC might be in better shape than we thought for this quarterback that is ranked No. 3 among those at the Pro Style position.

For more on Howell and other UNC recruiting targets, please check back with Keeping It Heel.