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Why Sam Howell went from No. 1 overall favorite to likely Day 2 pick in 2022 NFL Draft
Who is Sam Howell?
Sam Howell is a 21-year old quarterback who starred at North Carolina for three seasons. The hometown kid — he went to high school just outside Charlotte, N.C., about two hours from Chapel Hill — shocked the college football world when he spurned Florida State to join the Tar Heels in 2019.
"It is home," Howell told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. "For me, I just wanted to play early. And I thought that North Carolina, they had a really good team, and they just needed a quarterback to go in there and run the show."
He did just that as a freshman, taking the reins of coach Mack Brown's offense. Howell dazzled in Carolina blue, leading the ACC with 38 touchdown passes and finishing second in the conference with 3,641 passing yards, behind only Clemson's Trevor Lawrence.
Player School Pass Yds Pass TDs INTs
Trevor Lawrence Clemson 3,665 36 8
Sam Howell North Carolina 3,641 38 7
Bryce Perkins Virginia 3,530 22 12
Kenny Pickett Pittsburgh 3,098 13 9
Howell's best performance of his freshman season may have come in a defeat. The then-19-year-old went tit for tat with Lawrence, notching two touchdowns and zero picks as UNC fell just short of beating Lawrence and No. 1 Clemson 21-20.
Howell's maiden season established him as a star. His follow-up campaign proved it wasn't a fluke. He improved his completion percentage by 6.7 points and ranked fourth in the country in passing yards, according to ESPN.
It seemed as if Howell was living up to the hype. His Tar Heels strung together back-to-back bowl appearances, a far better result than the 2-9 season that preceded Howell's arrival. And his name was surging up draft boards — ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Howell as his No. 12 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback in his first 2022 NFL Draft Big Board.
What changed for Sam Howell between Years 2 and 3?
In short, everything...
www.sportingnews.com
Who is Sam Howell?
Sam Howell is a 21-year old quarterback who starred at North Carolina for three seasons. The hometown kid — he went to high school just outside Charlotte, N.C., about two hours from Chapel Hill — shocked the college football world when he spurned Florida State to join the Tar Heels in 2019.
"It is home," Howell told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. "For me, I just wanted to play early. And I thought that North Carolina, they had a really good team, and they just needed a quarterback to go in there and run the show."
He did just that as a freshman, taking the reins of coach Mack Brown's offense. Howell dazzled in Carolina blue, leading the ACC with 38 touchdown passes and finishing second in the conference with 3,641 passing yards, behind only Clemson's Trevor Lawrence.
Player School Pass Yds Pass TDs INTs
Trevor Lawrence Clemson 3,665 36 8
Sam Howell North Carolina 3,641 38 7
Bryce Perkins Virginia 3,530 22 12
Kenny Pickett Pittsburgh 3,098 13 9
Howell's best performance of his freshman season may have come in a defeat. The then-19-year-old went tit for tat with Lawrence, notching two touchdowns and zero picks as UNC fell just short of beating Lawrence and No. 1 Clemson 21-20.
Howell's maiden season established him as a star. His follow-up campaign proved it wasn't a fluke. He improved his completion percentage by 6.7 points and ranked fourth in the country in passing yards, according to ESPN.
It seemed as if Howell was living up to the hype. His Tar Heels strung together back-to-back bowl appearances, a far better result than the 2-9 season that preceded Howell's arrival. And his name was surging up draft boards — ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Howell as his No. 12 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback in his first 2022 NFL Draft Big Board.
What changed for Sam Howell between Years 2 and 3?
In short, everything...
Why Sam Howell went from No. 1 overall favorite to likely Day 2 pick in 2022 NFL Draft | Sporting News
Howell, projected to go No. 66 overall in Vinnie Iyer's latest mock draft, was once considered a consensus early first-round pick. The Sporting News examines the reasons for the UNC quarterback's slide.
www.sportingnews.com
