GoHeels Exclusive: Striving To Improve

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Sam Howell admits there's no place he'd rather be right now than back in Chapel Hill, going through practices with his teammates ahead of North Carolina's spring game.

But even though he's not, the rising sophomore quarterback is still striving to improve amid the coronavirus pandemic. And he's confident his teammates are, too.

"The main thing for us is making sure we're taking advantage of the time that we have right now," said Howell during a videoconference with media on Wednesday. "We can't look at it on the negative side. We've just got to make sure we keep working because at the end of the day, we have a season to play in the fall."

Coming off one of the best freshman seasons in ACC history, Howell has been at home in Indian Trail, North Carolina, since the league canceled all athletic-related activities on March 17, the day the Tar Heels were to open spring ball. That, however, hasn't slowed him down, as he's continued meeting with Phil Longo, studying film incessantly and working out with his quarterback coach, former Duke standout Anthony Boone.

Among Howell's top priorities has been concentrating on the mental side of the game. Longo, UNC's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, has ensured he has by creating a tape of all of Howell's negative moments from last season that they've reviewed and dissected thoroughly.

"During this time, that's something I can really focus on, just being in the house so much," Howell said. "I can really just sit down and focus on every single mistake I made last season and try to figure out what I did wrong. I mean, I know what I did wrong now at this point and I know what I need to do to fix it."

Yet, it's hard to imagine much needs to be changed.

On his way to earning Freshman All-America and ACC Rookie of the Year honors, Howell completed 259 of 422 passes for 3,641 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His 38 passing touchdowns set the FBS true freshman record and were the third most ever by an ACC quarterback. They also ranked fourth nationally, while his 3,641 passing yards ranked 14th.

Howell's body of work proved what many already believed about the heralded prospect: that he has the potential to play at the next level. As part of Longo's four-year development program for quarterbacks, he's further prepared Howell for that by having him watch film of every NFL defense and tell him how they could run Carolina's offense against them.

"It's been a little different," Howell said. "I haven't really studied a lot of NFL film myself, on the defensive side of the ball. It's definitely something that's been very good for me as part of my development. My final goal is to end up playing in the NFL one day, so Coach Longo is going to do everything he can to help me get there."

Boone is, too.

Howell started working out with Boone as a freshman at Sun Valley High School, and the two maintain a tight bond. Throughout Howell's freshman season, they texted every day and also FaceTimed twice a week – a few days before and then shortly after each game.

Now that he's back home, Howell said he'll throw outside twice a week with Boone. Rising junior receiver Dyami Brown, from nearby Charlotte, has also occasionally joined them.

"We do a lot of stuff, a lot of mobility stuff, a lot of different types of stuff," said Howell of his workouts with Boone. "He does a really, really good job of making sure he's tuning up all parts of my game, whether it's my feet, my eyes, all different types of things."

In his downtime, Howell said he's spent a lot of time watching film of two of his contemporaries, LSU's Joe Burrow and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa. Howell requested Burrow's film immediately after the Tar Heels' season-ending win over Temple in the Military Bowl in December, and estimated he's watched each of the Heisman Trophy winner's games three times since then.

"I think what he (Burrow) does a really good job of is just staying calm in the pocket," Howell said. "Nothing really rattles him, whether he's forced to escape on his feet he's always calm and he's always looking downfield trying to extend the play. He just does a really good job of delivering the football to his guys and he does it in a very efficient way.

"The main thing with him is he doesn't make mistakes, he's not going to put his team in a bad position, he doesn't turn the ball over, really. Just trying to be as efficient and trying to make sure I stay as calm as possible back there in the pocket."

Heading into the 2020 season, Howell is viewed by many college football pundits as one of the top candidates to follow Burrow's footsteps and hoist the Heisman. But while that would be a dream of Howell's, it's not his focus.

"It's always been a goal of mine to win the Heisman Trophy, but really, I'm just worried about my team," he said. "And I know if I do what I'm supposed to do and my team has a really good season, things will go well for me. I'm just trying to go out there and give my team everything I can and make sure we're winning games. It would be selfish of me to go into the season with one goal, to win the Heisman Trophy."

Especially knowing his team's poised for big things.

"We definitely have a lot of excitement around our program right now," Howell said. "We've just got to make sure we're looking at it the right way. We constantly tell our guys, 'Just because it's supposed to happen doesn't mean it's going to happen.'"

So, for now, Howell keeps working, doing his best to improve in these uncertain times.

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Players Mentioned

Dyami Brown

Sam Howell

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