UNC Football News: Sam Howell declares for NFL Draft

It wasn’t the season the UNC football program had envisioned all offseason and it came to a disappointing end on Thursday against South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. And as expected, that game was the last one for North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell.

On Saturday, Howell made the speculation official as he declared for the 2022 NFL draft, posting a message via his social media accounts.

The quarterback took time in the video to thank the university for the past three years and is ready for the next step in his journey, turning pro.

Howell joined North Carolina as part of the 2019 recruiting class, flipping from Florida State to the Tar Heels on National Signing Day. He was the first big flip for Mack Brown in his second stint in Chapel Hill. The quarterback made an instant impact with the program, starting from Day 1 and upsetting South Carolina in the 2019 season opener.

The former four-star quarterback out of Indiana Trail, North Carolina will go down as the best quarterback in program history.

Howell exits as the program setting new records with 10,283 passing yards, passing touchdowns with 92, total touchdowns with 111, and total offensive yards with 11,292. He also helped lead UNC to the Orange Bowl in the 2020 season.

The 6-foot-1-inch, 225-pound quarterback entered this year with the potential of being a Top 5 pick in the draft. Leaving UNC, Howell has a first-round grade by some but is being mocked in the mid-20’s in what is considered a less than stellar quarterback class. He now has the NFL Scouting Combine and Pro Day to use to up his stock for April’s Draft.

As for UNC, they now turn to a quarterback competition this offseason with junior Jacoby Criswell and redshirt sophomore Drake Maye to replace Howell. But it won’t be an easy task.

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