Keeping It Heel
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UNC Football: Rising sophomore Sam Howell will be special in 2020

By Blake Cockrum

ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to throw a pass in the first half against the Temple Owls in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 27, 2019 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to throw a pass in the first half against the Temple Owls in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 27, 2019 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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Sophomore UNC football quarterback Sam Howell is poised for a big 2020 season.

University of North Carolina sophomore quarterback Sam Howell is coming off a tremendous freshman season that saw him go from nearly unknown outside of the Tar Heel State, to household name among college football fans. It’s been almost six months since the Tar Heels’ final game of the 2019 season, and talk of Howell and his potential Heisman-worthy sophomore season has only increased.

Howell, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound signal caller out of Monroe, North Carolina, compiled 3,641 passing yards and 38 touchdowns through the air last season — 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 had 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 put together 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.

247Sports’ Brandon Marcello recently named Howell one of 13 players that college football fans should most be looking forward to watching in the coming season. Marcello mentioned the dynamic season that Howell put together as a freshman, as well as one thing that could make it difficult for him to live up to the preseason hype.

"“Why go with the easy pick in Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence when freshman Sam Howell has shown he’s more than capable of being a Heisman Trophy contender at North Carolina?Howell was phenomenal in his first season with 38 touchdown passes, the most by a true freshman in FBS history, and nearly knocked off Clemson in the regular season. What does Howell have in store for an encore? All of his skill players return on offense, but what about the dreaded sophomore slump?North Carolina will be Clemson’s top challenger next season because of Howell, and winning the ACC’s Coastal Division should be the expectation.I wrestled with the idea of placing Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger over Howell on this list, but the fact of the matter is a sophomore needs more practice time than an upperclassman. Howell could prove to be the better quarterback, but missing all of spring practices could affect his progress, even after a historic true freshman season in 2019.”"

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.

Next. Where UNC's Mack Brown ranks in the ACC. dark

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Sam Howell, and the UNC football program.

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