UNC Football: Sam Howell among top-20 under 20

UNC football sophomore quarterback Sam Howell named among top-20 players under the age of 20

University of North Carolina sophomore quarterback Sam Howell is coming off a tremendous freshman season that saw him go from nearly unknown outside the Tar Heel State, to household name among college football fans.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound signal caller compiled 3,641 passing yards and 38 touchdowns through the air — the most ever by a true freshman. He also ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and threw just seven interceptions on the season. He had a 61.4 completion percentage on the season, and a passer rating of 160.2.

He put together six games of 300 or more passing yards, and a career-high 401 in a 41-10 victory over the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh on November 11. He had eight games with at least three touchdown passes, and tossed four or more scores on three occasions. He threw a career-best five touchdowns in a six overtime loss to Virginia Tech in mid-October, and never threw for fewer than two scores in any game over the course of his rookie season.

Now, Howell returns to North Carolina for his sophomore season as one of the most anticipated players in college football. He’s already getting a lot of early Heisman hype, and the Tar Heels are expected to win the ACC Coastal Division on his shoulders. Most recently, 247Sports named Howell among the top-20 players in college football under the age of 20.

"“If Mack Brown really gets things going in Chapel Hill, we’ll look back at his flip of Howell from Florida State as the moment that started it all. The gunslinger delivered from the jump, shocking South Carolina in the opener, nearly shocking Clemson a few weeks later and guiding North Carolina to its first bowl berth in three seasons. Howell’s 38 touchdowns were the most for a true freshman in FBS history, breaking the record set by Trevor Lawrence a year prior. Howell is going to be a buzzy Heisman dark horse entering the fall.”"

There’s no doubt that a lot of North Carolina’s hopes rely on the success of Howell, and that’s a lot to put on a 19-year-old college sophomore. But if he plays similarly under pressure in year two as he did in year one, it shouldn’t be a problem. After all, Howell’s passing attack was the catalyst for a North Carolina offense that scored no less than 18 points in any one game last season, and racked up 31 or more points on seven occasions.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Sam Howell as we move closer to the start of the 2020-21 college football season.