UNC Football: Sam Howell takes lead in QB race

UNC Football Head Coach Mack Brown made a big update on where the Tar Heels’ quarterback competition is just a few weeks from the start of the new season

We are just under two weeks away from the start of the 2019 North Carolina Tar Heels’ football season as they will kickoff on August 31 in Charlotte vs. South Carolina.

But as we approach that first game of the season and the second stint of the Mack Brown era, the Tar Heels still haven’t named a starting quarterback.  Jace Ruder, Cade Fortin and Sam Howell have been battling it out since the Spring in a three-man competition for the starting job.

On Sunday, Brown made a big update on the competition and where the quarterbacks stand by saying the freshman Howell will begin taking the reps with the first team.

Brown made the announcement Sunday morning and here is what he said via Inside Carolina’s Ross Martin:

"“We’ve been looking at our quarterback situation very closely,” Brown said on Sunday inside the Kenan Football Center. “And we’re concerned about not having enough leadership on offense and one of your true leaders has to be your quarterback. The guys are in a tough spot because all three of them are good enough and all three of them are working hard enough, but Sam Howell will start taking the snaps with the blue team, our first team.”"

The four-star quarterback in Brown’s 2019 recruiting class was once a Florida State commit but flipped on early National Signing Day in November of 2018.

While he’s getting first team reps with just under two weeks until the season starts, Brown didn’t officially name him the starter. This move is just to show that Howell is winning the race right now and will likely be the starter with an announcement probably coming soon. There is a small chance Howell struggles with these first team reps and Ruder or Fortin emerge it could be a different story.

All signs are certainly pointing to Howell being the starters when the Tar Heels do take the field in Charlotte on August 31.

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