Panthers draft: Examining 3 big narratives surrounding Sam Howell

Sam Howell had an inconsistent junior season

There were big expectations for Sam Howell leading up to the 2021 college football season. Along with former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, he was seen as a sure-fire Heisman Trophy candidate and a potential top-10 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft that was potentially being monitored closely by the Carolina Panthers.

Unfortunately for the North Carolina signal-caller, these expectations cooled almost immediately following a 17-10 defeat at Virginia Tech and a horrid stat line of 17 of 32 for 243 total yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

Not a great start, but let’s examine how Howell responded through the rest of the season.

• 8 games with a completion percentage of 60.0 or better.
• 6 games with at least 295 passing yards.
• 7 games with at least 95 rushing yards.
• 8 games with at least 3 touchdowns.
• 9 total interceptions.

Fair or unfair, quarterbacks are often judged by wins and losses and a 6-7 season is a huge stain on Howell’s season.

Even with the context of North Carolina’s offensive line inconsistency, lack of weapons outside of Josh Downs, and a horrid defense, Howell will face the quarterback wins stigma during the draft process.

The verdict? There’s a lot of truth in this claim.

College football fans and analysts alike often praise the signal callers who put up eye-popping stats every week. Howell had more underwhelming games than you’d like to see from a junior player at the position, but there’s a fair argument that he had many more great performances than bad ones.

And in some instances where he put the team on his back against the likes of North Carolina State and Notre Dame, the Tar Heels’ defense and/or special teams couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.