UNC Football: Could Sam Howell be the first Heisman winner in UNC history?

A University of North Carolina football player has never won the Heisman trophy, but it may be time for that to change.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have never had a Heisman winner and haven’t had a finalist for the trophy since the late 40’s when Charlie Justice finished as the runner up in back-to-back seasons in 1948 and 1949.

The UNC football program may finally be taking the leap into the national spotlight as Mack Brown has been receiving endless commits from the nation’s top talent, but when it comes to turning the direction of a program around there’s always an individual that stands above the rest.

Luckily for North Carolina, they already have that guy and he’s already showcased his ability to thrive under center. Sam Howell as a true freshman played as if he had years of collegiate experience under his belt. From the moment he took his first snap he let the world know that they better get used to hearing the name Sam Howell.

The Tar Heels went 7-6 in their first year with Howell as their starting quarterback which must be improved if he wants any chance at the nation’s top award. Winning is half the battle when it comes to the Heisman trophy, but expect more success next year as the UNC program continues to adjust to the new system that Mack Brown has implemented.

What jumps off the page with Howell is the efficiency he plays with. He threw for 38 touchdowns with just 7 interceptions while completing 61.4 percent of his passes. The most eye-opening part of the season for Howell and UNC is how they battled with one of the nation’s top powerhouses.

When No. 1 Clemson came to Chapel Hill on September 28th, the Tar Heels came one 2-point conversion away from knocking off the top teams in the country.

That’s really all this discussion comes down to.

The only thing stopping Howell from spending a Saturday night in New York City in December is overcoming the juggernaut that Clemson is. The Trevor Lawrence era will surely end early as there is no way he sticks around when his name tops every mock draft out there.

By Howell’s junior season, Lawrence will be out of the picture and Mack Brown will be entering his third season as the leader of the program and he will be getting the best recruiting class in UNC history ready for Saturdays. Ohio State’s Justin Fields, another Heisman favorite this year, will also be gone after this season. Opening the door for Howell even more.

Also, the ACC is underwhelming when it comes to football, and the opportunity for Howell to stuff the stat sheet is right in front of him. With a good portion of the conference being mediocre at best, expect there to be some monster performances from the North Carolina native.

Going into his Sophomore season, Howell also gets all his wide-receivers back from last season and his favorite target, Dyami Brown is will be just a junior.

All the pieces are there for Sam Howell and they just need to fall into place but don’t be surprised when the Chapel Hill trophy case adds some unfamiliar hardware.