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UNC Football: Is Sam Howell the fourth-best QB in college football?

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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UNC football standout Sam Howell is coming off a historic freshman campaign, and Pro Football Focus has named him the fourth-best quarterback in the nation for 2020.

Just ahead of the 2020 college football season, Pro Football Focus released a complete list of FBS starting quarterbacks, ranking them in order from No. 1 all the way to 130. North Carolina’s Sam Howell — one of the nation’s top quarterbacks from a season ago — was ranked fourth after a trio of sensational signal-callers that includes Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Georgia’s Jamie Newman.

Whether or not North Carolina fans agree with the particular order of the standout quarterbacks does little to change the fact that being named among that group of stars is a tremendous honor. It’s a group that Howell should continue to be among as he enters his sophomore season with the Tar Heels. As a true freshman in 2019, Howell put together one of the best seasons in all of college football, regardless of class. And it was a historic freshman campaign that few before it compare to.

"“Mack Brown has the North Carolina program on the rise, and the move to kick off this particular butterfly effect was him flipping Sam Howell’s commitment from Florida State,” PFF’s Anthony Treash writes. “Howell had an outstanding true freshman campaign in 2019 that saw him accumulate the second-most-valuable true freshman season ever recorded by a Power 5 quarterback. The Tar Heels have one of the most potent deep passing attacks in the country with Howell leading the charge; he showed exceptional placement downfield last year, and his 29 big-time throws on deep balls in 2019 — tied for third-most in college football — reflect that.”"

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Howell, a native 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.

Howell’s six games of 300 or more passing yards helped lead the Tar Heels to seven victories, and their first bowl appearance since 2016. He notched a career-high 401 yards in a 41-10 victory over NC State 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.

Howell and the Tar Heels are set to begin the season with a conference matchup against Syracuse on September 12. Thanks to what many consider a very favorable schedule for the Tar Heels — and the fact that they were prohibitive favorites to win the ACC Coastal Division anyway — North Carolina and its fans are looking forward to a potential matchup with national powerhouse Clemson for league bragging rights.

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

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