One week after North Carolina head coach Mack Brown declared Sam Howell a leader in a three-way quarterback competition, the freshman was announced as the team’s starter for the Saturday season opener at home against South Carolina.
Brown officially confirmed the news at a press conference Monday after the school released the team’s depth chart earlier in the morning.
According to the school, Howell will be the first true freshman to start a season opener in Tar Heels history.
Howell had been competing with redshirt freshmen Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder. Ruder is listed as the No. 2 quarterback, with Fortin not mentioned in the wake of reportedly having entered the NCAA’s transfer portal in the last week.
“If you want to leave, you should be able to leave, and Cade did that obviously,” said Brown, per the Raleigh News & Observer.
The 247Sports composite ranked Howell as a four-star prospect and the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2019. He initially committed to Florida State but de-committed after offensive coordinator Walt Bell resigned in December to accept the head coaching job at Massachusetts.
From Monroe, N.C., Howell decided to move on to his home-state school.
