Sam Howell has a chance to prove he’s still the All-ACC quarterback.

I don’t get it when people say Howell has had a disappointing season. His team certainly has, considering the summer hype, but imagine where the Tar Heels would be without the new all-time UNC leader in passing yards and soon to be in total offense.

Howell rebuilt his body over the last year, almost as if he knew he would be needed to be a runner as much as a passer with the departures of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams.

After eight games, Howell is the seventh leading rusher in the ACC with 595 yards on the ground for an average of 74 yards per game and 6 running touchdowns. Combine that with his fourth-best passing stats in the ACC – 274 yards a game and 19 touchdowns – and Howell is easily the highest scoring quarterback in the conference.

The 2021 ACC is not a great league, but has great quarterbacks besides Howell. Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman have had great seasons, all exceeding their preseason expectations. Howell hasn’t because he entered 2021 known primarily as a passer and has actually upped his game.

The All-ACC race for quarterback is still wide open, and Howell has a chance to win the award he was picked for before the season. He has already beaten Virginia and Armstrong and has games remaining against Hartman and the Deacons this Saturday, Pickett and the Panthers on November 11 and NC State’s Devin Leary on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

What makes Howell so special is not only his ability to run the ball but his desire to do so from the run-pass option and scrambling away from the blitz. He has carried the ball 114 times, far more than any other ACC quarterback. And his 62-yard run against Georgia State is among the longest of all rushers.

And don’t forget, it is Howell’s receiving corps that has been a disappointment besides Josh Downs, who has been targeted more than all other Carolina wide receivers combined. So the loss of Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome from a year ago affects Howell the most.

His showdowns with Hartman and Pickett over the next 10 days will give Howell a chance to prove he is the ACC’s QB1 for sure.

 

Photo via AP Photo/Carlos Osorio.

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