CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell met with the media Tuesday evening to discuss the recent success on offense both individually, and as a team. Howell also looked ahead to Georgia Tech, which the Tar Heels will face this Saturday at Mercedes Benz Stadium at 7:30 PM.
Howell is coming off two strong outings following the disappointing week one performance. He has shown off his running skills the last two weeks not previously on display. Howell has run for 100-plus yards each of the last two games, and in addition to passing for more than 300 yards in each contest, joined former Louisville star and 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson as the only Power 5 players to do that in consecutive games.
Above is the full video of Howell’s Q&A session and below are notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say on his success, his relationship with Josh Downs, the direction of the offense, and how challenging Georgia Tech will be this week, following its close matchup with Clemson last weekend:
*Josh Downs has been a breakout star for the Tar Heels this season with 24 receptions for 399 yards and four touchdowns. Downs has quickly become Howell’s favorite target, but the two have known each other since before their time together in Chapel Hill. What were Howell’s first impressions of Downs back then when he got to work with him, and how long it takes to get that connection with a wide receiver like Downs?
“Every single time I would see Josh at a camp, or a 7-on-7 tournament, or whatever it was, I was super impressed,” Howell said. “Every single time I saw him I always knew I wanted to play with him one day. I didn’t think we’d get the chance to get him, but I’m just super glad he’s here.
“He’s a phenomenal player for us, and he’s only gonna get better. He works so hard, I can’t say enough about him.”
*Howell said developing chemistry with Downs was easy, certainly more so than with some other players, giving the props to Downs’ impressive skill set.
“I think it’s different with every receiver. It’s probably easier with some than others,” Howell replied. “Especially with a guy like Josh, he’s so good in space, and he likes to do some extra stuff sometimes to get himself open a little bit more. Definitely just getting that timing down with Josh was super important.
“Really with all of our receivers, we have throwing sessions all the time, all the quarterbacks, all the receivers, throughout the offseason. When we have those sessions we’re trying to take advantage of them. We’re not just out there throwing the ball around, we’re actually working on specific things, trying to get our timing down, working on specific things, stuff like that.”
*Georgia Tech has done a really great job defending the pass this season. Last week, they held Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to 126 yards passing with zero passing touchdowns. What challenge does Howell see from that pass defense as the Heels travel to Atlanta?
“They’re doing a really good job on defense,” Howell said. “You can tell they’re really well coached, they play hard, they’re physical. I think that’s probably the main thing you notice on film, how hard those guys play. Especially when you watch the Clemson game, it was super impressive to see that performance they had on the defensive side of the ball.
“They create turnovers as well, so we gotta do a good job of taking care of the football. They do a really good job, they mix up their looks, do a couple different things. I think from top to bottom on defense they have some really good players, so we definitely have to have a really good week of practice to have a good game on Saturday.”
*North Carolina has been targeting the tight end more as of late than it did in the past. Tight end had seven passes thrown their way versus Georgia State, and five times in the win over Virginia, including touchdown passes to Garrett Walston and Kamari Morales. How does involving the tight ends more make this offense harder to defend?
“It just makes it harder for the defenses, it’s another guy they have to account for,” Howell replied. “The first two years we didn’t get the ball to the tight end near as much as we should’ve. It just makes it so much harder to defend.
“With Garrett and Kamari, we have two weapons at tight end that we need to take advantage of, so we definitely want to try and use those guys a little bit more. We could still use them more than what we’ve been using them.
“That’s something Coach Longo is trying to do too. He’s trying to push the ball to those guys a little bit because they’ve done a really good job for us, and when we get them the ball, they’re productive. That’s just something we could always do a better job taking advantage of, having those two guys at tight end.”
*Howell has run for more than 100 yards and thrown for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games. He is only the second power five conference quarterback to do so in the last fifteen years, joining Lamar Jackson. Does that add to how special these last two games have been for Sam?
“It is pretty cool for my running game to be tied into the name of Lamar Jackson,” Howell said. “I think I kind of got lucky there that I had back-to-back games, it’s certainly not something I do every week, run for 100 yards.
“It is a cool deal, and it’s just a credit to Coach Longo, and the stuff he’s scheming up, and our o-line. They’ve done an incredible job these last two weeks, so if we keep that going, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”
*UNC has now scored 59 points in back-to-back weeks, after scoring just 10 in the season opener. What is going to be the key to sustain that type of offensive output, and not suffer a drop off this weekend?
“We just try to do our job every single play,” Howell replied. “We just gotta stay within ourselves on offense, and never try to do too much. I think when we try to do too much, that’s when we get in trouble.
“Really just have a really good week of practice. I think that’s something from the offensive side that’s really important for us to have success on Saturdays, to have a really good week of practice and preparation, and make sure we know everything the defense is gonna try to do to us when we go out there on Saturday.
“Our coaching staff does a really good job of making sure all of our positions are prepared on Saturday. We just need to make sure we’re doing the same process every week, and never get complacent. Never get the feeling of we’re gonna go out there and score 60 points a game.
“It’s not that easy. There’s a lot that goes into it to have that kind of success on Saturdays. As long as we just stick to the process, and trust our preparation, we’ll be alright.”
