Perhaps the most amazing thing about North Carolina’s football season last fall occured while the Tar Heels warmed up on the road, as only two quarterbacks were in uniform taking snaps for most of the year.
Following Jace Ruder’s season-ending injury versus Appalachian State in September, just Sam Howell and Vincent Amendola got in pre-game work before road games, in which just 70 players can travel and dress. So, one or two of UNC’s centers working on their shotgun snaps were snapping the ball to assistant coaches. It was rather bizarre.
You see, Carolina was out of quarterbacks. In fact, it wasn’t exactly rolling in them to begin with.
Ruder and Cade Fortin returned from the previous season, one in which both redshirted despite playing in some games. Howell ended up winning the job as a true freshmen and Fortin, who was pegged third behind Ruder as well, opted to transfer leaving UNC with just two scholarship quarterbacks.
After Ruder was hurt in the fourth game, Howell was the only scholarship quarterback Carolina had the rest of the way. A scarier proposition for the coaching staff would be hard to find. But not anymore.
The room has filled up some.
“We’re putting Sam and Jace to work,” UNC offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo recently said. “Now, Jace Ruder mentally is where Sam is in terms of understanding the offense. I think where Jace would fall behind Sam is the experience of actually executing over 13 games the way Sam did. But from a meeting standpoint, I meet with the two of them together.”
Add true freshman Jacolby Criswell to the group, too. A 4-star prospect out of Arkansas, Criswell enrolled in January. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the newcomers - 13 overall Tar Heels enrolled early – they didn’t have the opportunity to learn during spring practice due to the coronavirus-fueled shutdowns.
Criswell, however, still had enough time to make an impression before school was closed.
“Colby is a really, really good player,” Howell said. “We threw some stuff at him in the spring and he’s done a really, really good job. He’s definitely eager to learn about the playbook, eager to learn about defenses and all that type of stuff.
“So, he’s always wanting to learn, always asking questions so I’m really excited about where he’s going to be.”
Depth is a plus, and there’s no expectation anyone will leave in August, so UNC should go into the opener at UCF with three scholarship QBs, each of whom were 4-star prospects with plenty of impressive offers from other schools. This is a talented bunch.
It also means Longo can mine his playbook a little more than a year ago. Carolina was hamstrung because the risk of running Howell was too great, and since the quarterback running the ball is an essential part of Longo’s version of the air raid offense, UNC fans can expect to see more variety this year.
Not only will Howell run the ball more, but the packages designed for Ruder (seven carries for 43 yards at UNC) last fall will be back this season.
“That's definitely something that's exciting to me,” said Howell, who lost almost as many yards on 37 sacks (227) last season as he gained on 57 more conventional runs (246).
“I ran the ball a lot in high school and I enjoy running the ball. I think it's an aspect of my game where I can help this team a little more. So, I'm definitely excited. Right now, we have a great depth in our quarterback room.”
Preferred walk-on Vincent Amendola saw action in three games as a true freshman and served as Howell’s backup after Ruder went down. Donovan Brewington, also a true freshman last fall, also came in as a preferred walk-on. They are now the fourth and fifth quarterbacks, respectively.
So, when checking out the Tar Heels during warmups this coming fall, don’t plan on seeing any assistant coaches or student managers taking snaps from the centers during pre-game. Carolina will have enough QBs back there, unlike a year ago.
