Sam Howell

Howell entered his true freshman season at North Carolina in 2019 as the starting quarterback, and became the first true freshman to start a season-opening game for the Tar Heels.[4][5] In his first career game against South Carolina, he passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over the Gamecocks.[6] Against NC State, Howell threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns in a 41–10 defeat of the Wolfpack.[7]

Howell had a successful true freshman campaign, completing 234 of 388 attempts for 3,347 yards with 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions during the regular season. In the Tar Heels' bowl game, he threw for 294 yards and three more touchdowns, bringing his season total to 38, in the 55–13 win over Temple in the 2019 Military Bowl. He earned Military Bowl MVP for his performance, which also included a two-yard touchdown reception on a trick play. Howell's statistics with regard to touchdowns were records both at Carolina and at the FBS level of competition for a true freshman quarterback.[8] His yardage and touchdown totals were also the highest in the ACC for the 2019 season. At the conclusion of the season, Howell was named to the All-ACC third team. He was also named ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year and consensus freshman All-America.[9][1] His 3,641 passing yards in 2019 rank second all-time in North Carolina history for a single season.

Going into his second season as a Tar Heel, Howell received significant national attention. He was named to the Maxwell Award, Manning Award, and Davey O'Brien Award watch lists in the preseason. [10] He started the season off slowly against Syracuse and Boston College, but set a career high for passing yards with 443 in the 44-41 loss against Virginia, earning ACC Player of the Week honors in the process. [11] Two games later, against Wake Forest, he broke multiple school records, and set another career high for passing, in the Tar Heels' 59-53 comeback victory. Howell threw for 550 yards and 6 touchdowns, ran for another, and led the explosive Tar Heel offense to a school record 742 yards of total offense in the game.[12]

Howell's performance in the 2020 campaign has put him in position to break several career records for the Tar Heels. As of December 12, 2020, he sits only three touchdowns behind Darian Durant's 68 career passing scores, giving him the mark of second all-time in passing touchdowns at Carolina. Howell currently sits fifth all-time at North Carolina in passing yards.