Sam Howell’s UNC career could end how it started — with win over Gamecocks in Charlotte
Ask those around Sam Howell about his first start at North Carolina in the 2019 season opener in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium against South Carolina and they’ll say that’s when they knew Howell could be special.
Now that it might be the end for Howell, in Charlotte, at Bank of America Stadium, against South Carolina, he finally knows too.
Howell is likely making his final appearance in a Tar Heel uniform on Thursday in Duke’s Mayo Bowl as quarterback-starved NFL franchises anxiously await his decision to declare for the draft. Should he leave with a year of eligibility remaining — Howell participated in Senior Day activities in UNC’s win over Wofford — he’ll do so as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, total offense and passing touchdowns.
And arguably, the best quarterback to ever play in Chapel Hill.
Early lessons and success
But back on Aug. 31, 2019, with a sun-baked, 90-degree day making the field temperature even hotter, Howell was just trying to survive his first college game. He admitted to being a little nervous and not know what to expect, “I didn’t know if we were going to go out there and beat South Carolina by 30 or lose by 40.”
“I took a lot of hits in the first half, I was running around like it was high school and kind of got some, ‘Welcome to college football,’ hits,” Howell said. “I remember sitting there at halftime hurting. Hurting bad.”
Some of the hurt he experienced was self-inflicted. Howell was getting dehydrated and by the third quarter thought he may have to sit out a few snaps.
“I wasn’t prepared from a hydration standpoint just because I’ve never been through something that hard physically,” Howell said. “I was cramping starting the third quarter and I almost had to go to the locker room and take some IVs. I ended up not having to, but it was a tough game and you know I was able to bounce through it. I just learned a lot a lot about myself.”
What he learned, some of the Heels said they already knew and as the fourth quarter played out, the rest of college football was tipped off too.
UNC had been held to just three field goals through three quarters as the Gamecocks enjoyed a 20-9 lead. But there was something about Howell that didn’t rattle like most freshmen are expected to do while facing their first pressure situation in college.
Howell directed a 98-yard touchdown drive, complete with a two-point conversion, and a 95-yard drive in the fourth quarter to lead the Heels’ 24-20 upset win.
“Seeing some of the throws he made, the decisions he made, I mean, I knew the only person that could stop him was him,” UNC right tackle Justin Tucker said.
Providing much-needed stability
Defenses haven’t had much luck stopping him for three seasons. Howell has started every game the past three years — with the exception of sitting out against Wofford this season with a shoulder injury. He’s thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game he’s played, which makes his 36 game streak the longest in the nation.
Senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said what Howell did was bring stability to a position that had previously been inconsistent.
“To be honest, like years before we really didn’t have a QB who was just, our sound QB,” Gemmel said. “We rotated through QBs my first two years here. So we never really had a quarterback where we went into a game where we knew like, we’re going to have this guy in for the full game. Going in there with Sam, we had a confidence that we really never had before going into a game.”
Howell is part of the reason why Carolina believed it could win every game. His 68 touchdown passes through his sophomore season set a new ACC record, surpassing former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Gemmel said he knew Howell was impressive by the way he delivered the ball to his receivers in practice, “he’s throwing NFL balls.”
UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo had recruited Howell while he was on staff at Ole Miss. He said he had an idea early that Howell would be special.
“You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I thought we have a potential great one here because of his talent base,” Longo said.
Howell’s talent didn’t stop with throwing the ball. This season with the Heels inexperienced at running back, he had to run the ball more. Howell’s 824 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns were good enough to rank seventh in the ACC.
“Honestly, when I got here, I did not know what type of runner he was,” running back Ty Chandler said. “He was an exciting quarterback to watch. I mean, he’s a great, great player and a great leader for this team.”
‘The Sam Howell era’
Howell’s game-changing influence for the program goes beyond the results on the field. UNC coach Mack Brown credits Howell for jump starting his recruiting efforts upon his second tenure in Chapel Hill.
Before Brown got the job, Carolina recruited Howell under former coach Larry Fedora, but he had committed to Florida State. With mounting pressure concerning the job status of then-Seminoles’ coach Willie Taggart, there was an opening to flip Howell’s commitment. And Brown did it. But what that did for the Tar Heels had a bigger impact.
“One of the things that’s happened to help my recruiting so much, I believe, is our first year you get a guy like Sam Howell and he flipped from Florida State,” Brown said. “And he made it okay for all the other kids to come.”
Sophomore receiver Josh Downs is one of those kids. Downs said he’d played with Howell in several elite football camps and when Howell committed, it made him think harder about playing for the Tar Heels, even though his father was a former running back at N.C. State.
That’s part of the reason why, even in a season that didn’t unfold the way they expected, Howell decided to play in the Heels’ bowl game. He feels committed to his teammates.
When Name, Image and Likeness allowed players to profit, Howell negotiated several of the deals he landed to include some of his teammates. The offensive linemen were especially grateful because they don’t get the kind of NIL opportunities quarterbacks do.
Ultimately, those are the kinds of gestures Howell wants to be remembered for at UNC.
“I’m just trying to give this school everything I can just to help this program get back to where it should be,” Howell said. “...My whole time here I’ve try to come in here every day and just try to make everyone around me better and try to set the standard working hard and just always doing the right thing.”
He’ll have one more chance to do so, against the same opponent, in the same place it all started.
“The Sam Howell era will end here in Charlotte against South Carolina,” Longo said. “And our plan is to try and end it the same way.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 5:30 AM.