We are one big step closer to knowing what UNC will look like when they take the field against South Carolina in under two weeks. After an entire offseason of evaluation, Mack Brown and his staff have finally found a little bit of separation at the quarterback position. Brown told the media this afternoon that four-star freshman Sam Howell will be practicing with the first team from this point forward.
Mack Brown says Sam Howell will start taking snaps with the Blue Team (first team). “Sam has just been more consistent than the other two.”
— Pat James (@patjames24) August 18, 2019
The assessment of Howell’s skills falls in line with what the staff has been saying up to this point: Jace Ruder’s strong suit was running, Cade Fortin was viewed as the strongest passer, and Howell fell right in the middle, though was slightly behind both players in their respective strengths. The combination of these two attributes, however, is likely what helped Brown make the decision to have Howell practice with the first team.
Now that the Heels have finally found someone who will consistently practice with the starters, they should now be able to focus on getting everyone to gel on the field. Will everyone be on the same page by the time they square off with South Carolina? Or will this decision coming so late hamper cohesiveness in Mack Brown’s first game back? We will have answers to these questions and more in just a matter of weeks.