UNC Football: Sam Howell to start Week 1 vs. South Carolina
By Zack Pearson
The UNC Football program releases the Week 1 depth chart with true freshman Sam Howell listed as the starting quarterback
It’s finally game week as the North Carolina Tar Heels will kickoff their 2019 season in Charlotte vs. South Carolina in the Belk College Kickoff this Saturday afternoon.
When the Tar Heels do take the field for the first time on offense, they will do so being led out by freshman quarterback Sam Howell. The four-star quarterback has been taking reps with the first team for over a week now and on Monday, head coach Mack Brown officially named him the starter.
UNC released their Week 1 depth chart for Saturday’s game vs. South Carolina and right there at the top is the quarterback Howell. Brown confirmed the move during a radio appearance early Monday morning as the Howell era is set to officially begin.
Mack Brown says on 97.9 The Hill WCHL this morning that Sam Howell is the starter. Jace Ruder will be No. 2 and the staff is trying to figure out who will be third string. As reported last week, Cade Fortin will transfer. He wants to try to start elsewhere.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) August 26, 2019
The Monroe, North Carolina native originally committed to Florida State as a four-star pro style quarterback in the 2019 class. But after Brown was hired as head coach in November, the Tar Heels were able to flip him and add him to their 2019 class.
Howell stepped on campus in a battle for the No. 1 job with Jace Ruder and Cade Fortin, two quarterbacks that played limited time on a redshirt last season. Ruder will serve as the backup while Fortin is leaving the program after entering the transfer portal.
Some other depth chart notables includes Michael Carter and Javonte Williams listed as options as starting running backs with Antonio Williams as the backup. At wide receiver, Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome and Antoine Green are the starters with Emery Simmons as the primary backup.
Some notables on defense include Chazz Surratt starting at inside linebacker, JUCO transfer Ray Vohasek and freshman Tomari Fox listed as starters on the defensive line. The Tar Heels will be without Patrice Rene and Dominique Ross for the first half of Saturday’s game due to the incident at the end of last season’s finale vs. NC State.
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For more on Saturday’s game against South Carolina, check back with Keeping It Heel.