CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina junior quarterback Sam Howell will forego his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2022 NFL Draft. Howell announced his decision by way of a social media video on Saturday.
“… These past three years, and especially the past few months, have been a whirlwind, but I have a lot of peace about the next chapter in my life,” Howell said in his announcement. “With that being said, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be entering the 2022 NFL Draft. I’ll forever be grateful for my time here at Carolina, and for all the people that made it so special. Chapel Hill will always hold a special place in my heart…”
Howell leaves North Carolina as the best quarterback in school history. He holds the school record for passing yards (10,283 ), passing touchdowns (92), total offense (11,292 yards), and total touchdowns accounted for (111), along with numerous other single-season and single-game school records.
In his third season at UNC in 2021, the Tar Heels finished with a 6-7 record and a loss on Thursday to South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Howell totaled 3,056 total passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns (and nine interceptions), and a 62.5 percent completion percentage (217-for-347). UNC used Howell in the run game far more this year and he responded with 183 carries for 828 yards (including yards lost for sacks) and 11 scores.
For his career, Howell finished with 10,283 passing yards, 92 passing touchdowns, and a 63.8 percent completion percentage. He added 1,009 rushing yards across three seasons and 17 rushing touchdowns.
Howell had a passing touchdown in all 37 games he played, including a 37-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Walston in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game loss.
Thank you 7?? pic.twitter.com/GTa2Br8eMF
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) January 1, 2022
The Indian Trail, N.C. native was a pivotal early commitment in the Mack Brown 2.0 era that put the Tar Heels on an upward trajectory shortly after Brown arrived on campus. Just three weeks after Brown was hired at UNC, Howell flipped his commitment from Florida State and to the Tar Heels on Dec. 19. Howell enrolled in January 2019 and beat out Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder for the starting quarterback job during preseason camp.
For the next three seasons, Howell provided both a stable presence and dynamic force at quarterback for Carolina’s offense and a football team going through a rebuild. Howell willed the Tar Heels to wins and was part of some of the most prolific offenses in school history.
As a true freshman starter Howell led UNC to back-to-back comeback wins over South Carolina and Miami to open the 2019 season. UNC lost to No. 1 Clemson 21-20 in Kenan Stadium and fell to Virginia Tech in six overtimes in Blacksburg. The Tar Heels finished the season 7-6 with a dominating 55-13 win over Temple in the Military Bowl.
Under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Howell led UNC to an 8-4 record which included a 62-26 blasting of No. 10 Miami in Hard Rock Stadium and a 41-27 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl.
Behind Howell, UNC has sophomore Jacolby Criswell and true freshman Drake Maye. Criswell and Maye both played extensively against Wofford this season. Criswell was 11-for-19 for 125 yards and ran the ball five times for 66 yards and one score. Maye was 7-for-9 for 89 yards and one touchdown. The Charlotte native and UNC legacy ran the ball four times for 38 yards. The competition for who will be UNC’s next starting quarterback will begin during spring practice and will likely go into preseason camp ahead of the 2022 season.
Most 2022 NFL Mock Drafts have Howell going in the middle part or late in the first round.
