CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell met with the media via zoom following the Tar Heels’ first practice of the season Thursday morning.
Howell fielded questions about various position groups, how he’s improved, expectations for him personally as well as the team, the effect of NIL, and more.
Above is Howell's full presser and below are some notes and quotes from what the junior QB and Heisman Trophy candidate had to say:
*Howell was asked if he believes there will be more use of his arm early in the season while a largely unproven running backs room gets acclimated to things. Howell said the offense will move forward as it has in the past.
“I don’t think so, I think we’re going to do what we do,” he said. “We’re going to keep our same system. We feel really good about the guys in our running back room. A lot of them had really good practices today, (though) we haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. From what I saw out there on the field, I felt really good about what I saw from the running back room.”
*Mack Brown said two weeks ago at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte that one of the most important things the program must do during fall camp is determine who will back up Howell. Sophomore Jacolby Criswell took reps with the second team first during the spring and did so again Thursday. True freshman Drake Maye went after him. So, what did Howell think of his two primary backups this summer, their approaches, and on the first day of practice?
“They both have been awesome,” Howell said. “They both have done everything that’s been asked of them. They’re super fun to work with, they’re always wanting to learn and watch film with me. They both had good days today.
“The main thing I just try to tell them is, ‘You’re both going to get an opportunity, and whenever you get an opportunity just take advantage of it.’ It’s fun to watch those two compete. They’re two super talented kids, two different players, but they’re so talented.”
*Howell and offensive coordinator/QB coach Phil Longo have an outstanding relationship, and part of that has grown to where Howell has a bit of a say in what plays the Heels run. How much of a say? He elaborated.
“The thing with Coach Longo is the main thing with him is he wants you to like what we’re doing,” Howell said. “If there’s one play I don’t like in the offense he gets rid of it. I think over the years you just earn that trust and earn that respect. My freshman year, I didn’t really have much of a say at all when it came to game planning, he put the gam plan together and installed it – I really didn’t have a say what went in there.
“I was a little involved last year, a lot more involved than in my freshman year. This year, me and him have talked about it, I’ll probably be pretty involved. We’ll sit down and do some game-planning together early on in the week and just share our thoughts about what I like, what he likes.”
*Howell may not be the most vocal guy on the field, but leadership can come in a variety of forms, and in the case of the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, he is hands-on in talking with his receivers when they do things well and when they don’t. An example of that Thursday morning was after Khafre Brown struggled over a couple of reps, so after a coach spoke with Brown for a moment, Howell went over and offered some encouragement.
Howell wants to be fully connected with his newish batch of receivers, so what is he trying to accomplish with them right now?
“I think we have a lot of really talented guys, but we can do a better job with the details,” Howell said. “The guys before them with Dyami (Brown) and Dazz (Newsome), they were so good with the details – there are little details about every route that we run that makes it a little better, a little easier to throw to.
“So, just after every single route critique it. The best thing is those guys in the receiver room they want to learn, they want to get better. They’ve been awesome.
“You brought up Khafre, he’s done an unbelievable job. He’s come a long way since he first came in here two years ago. I’m super excited about the receiver room, though.”
