UNC Football: Sam Howell among best freshman QB’s

The UNC Football team sits at 4-4 with just 4 games remaining but they are in the Coastal race thanks in part to Sam Howell

Mack Brown was only on the job for a few months when he was putting together his 2019 recruiting class. It was the first class for Brown in his second stint as head coach at North Carolina and it turned out to be an impressive class under the circumstances.

One of the biggest gets for Brown came on National Signing Day when he was able to flip a quarterback commit from Florida State.

That four-star in-state prospect was Sam Howell and now months later, he’s playing a big part in the turnaround going on at UNC. Howell battled Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder during the Spring and Summer for the starting job and eventually won out.

Brown’s decision to make Howell the starter is paying dividends as the freshman has been fantastic so far.

Through the first eight games of the season, UNC is 4-4 and in contention for the Coastal division title as well as two games away from being bowl eligible. And Howell is a big reason for that.

Howell has thrown for 2,119 yards, 22 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions while posting a quarterback rating of 148. While he threw two interceptions vs. Duke, Howell also threw two touchdown passes. Overall, Howell has not only been one of the better quarterbacks in the conference but in the country as well especially among freshman:

UNC still has some ways to go for the Coastal division and are set to meet Virginia on Saturday night at home. The winner will have the inside track at winning the division and likely face Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

The Tar Heels also need just two more wins out of their final four games here in November to be bowl eligible and it could all lay on Howell’s shoulders.

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