UNC QB Sam Howell won’t play Saturday for the Tar Heels. Who will play in his place?

UNC quarterback Sam Howell, who appeared to be injured on the final play of last week’s game against Pittsburgh, is not in uniform today for the Tar Heels. Jacolby Criswell is expected to start at QB for Carolina.

The school announced that Howell will still be honored on Senior Day today, and that he will graduate from the school in December, paving the way to enter the NFL Draft next spring.

“I think it will come down to Saturday afternoon when we walk out there at noon or 11 o’clock to see,” UNC coach Mack Brown said earlier this week. “Drake (Maye) and Jacolby have an awareness they may be starting their first game and will be out there.”

Howell suffered what the team calls an upper-body injury during last Thursday’s 30-23 overtime loss at Pittsburgh, and had his non-throwing arm in a sling afterward. Brown said Monday that Howell is expected to be 100% for Friday’s rivalry game at N.C. State.

The junior plans to go through North Carolina’s Senior Day festivities on Saturday. Brown said Monday that Howell was headed to the NFL. Howell on Tuesday left the door open to a potential return, but that door is all but closed after the announcement of his December graduation.

Brown reiterated Wednesday that he’s not planning on having Howell back next year: “He’s a first-round draft choice so I personally think he’s leaving, but it’s wrong of me to speak for him,” Brown said.

Howell taking the afternoon off might not be the worst thing for the Tar Heels in the big picture. Criswell and Maye are expected to compete for next fall’s quarterback job in the spring, and Saturday could end up being a joint audition for both of them.